FRANKIE Boyle once compared Glasgow's idea of cafe culture to Paris after a nuclear winter so it always helps to have a tour guide armed with local knowledge to help you acclimatise.

While the contours of Roland Garros are hardly new to him, this is Andy Murray's first French Open working with Amelie Mauresmo and when it comes to plotting his assault on the title this fortnight, the 35-year-old could be said to be a friend with benefits.

Brought up in the Parisian suburb of Saint Germain-en-Laye, Mauresmo - who was recruited by Murray shortly before last year's Wimbledon - knows this place intimately and her assistance isn't confined to the coaching arena. The World No 3 last night paid tribute to his coach for sourcing a residence adjacent to the practice courts to facilitate additional work, not to mention making a couple of excellent restaurant recommendations. Okay so Michel Roux could maybe have done the last part too, but having never got beyond the quarter finals of her home slam in a decade of trying, Mauresmo certainly knows what not to do here.

"Aside from the tennis, she's helped with a few good restaurant choices near the hotel, which has been good," the Scot said of Mauresmo, who will be unavailable for duties on the tour shortly as she prepares to have her first child, a move which has facilitated an extra place in Murray's coaching staff for one-time Swedish doubles expert Jonas Bjorkman. "Amélie obviously put a lot of pressure on herself here which probably wasn't beneficial for her performances but she can obviously give me advice and input based on her experiences of playing in these tournaments."

Perhaps even Mauresmo would struggle to recognise certain aspects of life in Paris this year, though. First of all, there has been some unseasonal, shifting weather patterns: wet, cold and wind early in the week giving way yesterday to baking sun. The courts at Roland Garros are said to be slower than ever.

But the real change relates to the personal fortunes of the man whose picture adorns most spare walls in this place. Despite nine titles this last decade, Rafa Nadal comes in as No 6 seed, with the relentless World No 1 Novak Djokovic the man apparently slated as his successor, the last, elusive slam he requires to complete the whole career set. With the two men named in the same quarter of the draw, yesterday's draw set the clock ticking on Nadal's presumed defrocking in the last eight. But Murray believes that anyone who is writing the Spaniard off at a venue where he has lost just once, to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009, is foolish indeed.

"I think it changes things," said Murray. "I think Novak for me goes into a tournament as favourite now, but on that court Rafa's record is ridiculous. It's completely possible that he gets out there and feels great, especially if he gets himself into the tournament and wins his first few matches. It would be stupid to write him off or suggest that he can't win the event or won't win the event."

Murray, who appeared confident and relaxed yesterday - showing no signs of the lethargy which caused him to withdraw from the Italian Masters - has his own reasons to feel he could be a beneficiary of the drop-off in Nadal's play. A crushing victory against the Spaniard in the Madrid final was his first ever against this opponent on this surface, and he goes into his first round match with Facundo Arguello of Argentina, the World No 139, either Monday or Tuesday, defending a 10-0 winning record on this surface which has harvested the first two clay court titles of his career.

He said yesterday that he feels at home on the surface for the first time in his life. "It's the best I have played on clay, for sure," he said. "I mean, I never really felt particularly comfortable on the surface. Sometimes by the time I got to the French Open I started to feel good, but obviously winning tournaments and beating good players helps with the confidence.

"I just feel now like I have an idea of what I'm doing on the court sometimes," he added. "While in the past I have not really known what was happening on the court and felt like I was struggling with my movement. Even though people watching matches would say 'oh, you look like you're moving really well', I felt like I wasn't."

As positive as all this sounds, what isn't quite so positive is a generally tough-looking draw. Murray - who plans to play in his black Under Armour gear, albeit with a white alternative outfit also available if it gets too hot - is in that same loaded top half of the draw as Djokovic and Nadal, and many pitfalls will have to be negotiated - not least of them, potentially Nick Kyrgios and David Ferrer, to reach a semi-final with either.

There are dangers of playing hypothetical tennis but Murray said he hoped he would be around in the last four to take on whoever emerges from that potentially epic match-up. "I would love to be in that position, to have made the semis," he said. "For me, that's a great result at this event. There are certainly no guarantees that will be the case. I will have to play really, really well to get there."