THE transition to clay courts is something with which Andy Murray has never felt immediately comfortable.
But as he took to a grass court yesterday for the first time this year, it was like watching a duck take to water.
This week's AEGON Championships at the Queen's Club in London heralds the start of the biggest grass-court season of Murray's career. Not only does the 25-year-old have another assault on Wimbledon to look forward to, but he will return to the All England Club just three weeks later for a once-in-a-lifetime shot at winning an Olympic gold medal on home soil.
Although Murray will have felt immediate disappointment after his Roland Garros quarter-final exit on Wednesday at the hands of Spain's David Ferrer, there may also be a feeling of relief that his stint on the red stuff for this year is over.
Murray said: "It's great to be back on the grass at the Queen's Club today and I'm looking forward to the AEGON Championships next week.
"It's meant a lot to win the title two out of the last three years and to do well here is always the best possible preparation for me in the lead-up to Wimbledon."
The world No 4 looked in fine fettle during his first hit at Queen's with his brother Jamie and Scottish No 2 Jamie Baker, who has received a wild card. There had been fears Murray could miss this week's tournament due to the back injury which plagued him in Paris, but there was no sign of any niggles during the two-hour session. All aspects of Murray's game, particularly the forehand, were in good order, and coach Ivan Lendl will have been pleased by what he saw.
As the top seed, Murray has received a bye in the first round, so will open the defence of his title against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, of Spain, or France's Nicolas Mahut in the second round, likely to be on Wednesday.
Murray was also due to compete in the doubles with his brother Jamie to get some time on court with each other ahead of the Olympics but, as a precaution, he has decided that the singles will suffice ahead of Wimbledon. Jamie will team up instead with Marcos Baghdatis.
Baker faces an intriguing all-British clash against 18-year-old Oliver Golding, the 2011 US Open junior champion, with the winner to face the second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Having spent time training with Murray in Florida last December, Baker last month went on to achieve a career-high ranking of No 206. Ahead of this week and Wimbledon, where he will also likely receive a wild card, Baker was delighted to spend more time on the practice court with Murray. "You can't have better preparation than playing somebody that good," he said.
Meanwhile, Juan Martin del Potro has been forced to withdraw from the tournament because of a knee injury.
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