THE most pressing challenge for the Murray clan is to hit the dirt and rise unsullied by defeat.On rain-drenched courts in Drumchapel last week, it was easy to forget that tennis can be played both in the sun and on surfaces laid down not to withstand inclement weather but to extract maximum effort from competitors.

Judy Murray, at Drumchapel Park to open the refurbished facilities, already has her focus on a week that will test both her and her son, Andy, the world No 2. The clay court season starts this week in Monte Carlo, before taking in Rome and Madrid, and ending in Roland Garros for the French Open. Murray, 25, has never reached a clay court final, but has been advised pointedly by his coach Ivan Lendl that he can win a French Open.

The Scot's work on clay has already started as he has trained on the surface for the past week at Boca Raton in Florida before flying to Monte Carlo on Thursday so he could have a further five days of practice before his first match.

His mother's engagement with clay is similarly high profile. She captains the Great Britain Fed Cup team who travel to Buenos Aires for a world group play-off match.

"The challenge for us will be the surface and I am sure they will put down the slowest one they can possibly find," she says. "There will be a noisy, possibly very hostile crowd that you do not normally get at a ladies tennis match. It will be a football-type atmosphere, a lot of challenges."

The first problem is the withdrawal of Heather Watson, the 20-year-old from Guernsey, because of glandular fever. The team now comprise Laura Robson (world No 39), Johanna Konta (No 154), Anne Keothavong (No 184) and Elena Baltacha (No 209) for the tie played on Saturday and Sunday. The winners will join the world group, in which Britain have not played for 20 years.

Murray's side have the advantage in rankings: Argentina's top four players are Paula Ormaechea (world No 145), Maria Irigoyen (No 203), Florencia Molinero (No 239) and Mailen Auroux (No 328).

"This is a huge opportunity for us to get into the world group," says Murray, drying her hair in the pavilion after a battle with the Drumchapel elements. "It is tough for us that Heather can not come with us but the most important thing is that she looks after herself, gets herself well."

Baltacha, at 29, returns to the team after flirting with retirement and undergoing foot surgery. She played last week competitively for the first time in nine months, retiring exhausted in the third set. "Her massive experience and her commitment to the team is worth its weight in gold," says Judy Murray of her fellow Scot.

Murray has spent the last few weeks both assessing the form of British players and spying on the Argentine players in Florida. Like Leon Smith, who preferred Dan Evans to Jamie Baker in the Davis Cup tie against Russia, Murray has a decision to make in who to bring into the singles matches, assuming Robson will be her No 1 choice. She understandably would not give an indication of her thinking but Konta plays well on clay.

Murray, though, was expansive on the "huge opportunity" offered by the tie in Buenos Aires. "We have had 20-odd years of playing in the smaller zones, playing in the middle of nowhere. This gives us the chance to go for three ties that would really allow us to grow the profile of Fed Cup, the profile of women's tennis and the profile of our players. There is a lot for us to aim for."

The same applies to her son who has the French Open in his sights. His best run at Roland Garros was to the semi-finals in 2011, but he has been told by Lendl that winning the tournament is an attainable goal.

"He is in very good shape after a very good start to the year. He is in good spirits," she says of her son who reached the Australian Open final and won the Sony Open in Miami.

"He has shown he can play well on clay," she adds, before addressing some of the difficulties of the surface. "Some of it is movement but some of it is the mentality," she says of the abrupt shift from hard court to dirt. "The rallies are long, the ball is kicking up over your shoulder and you have to play shots from different positions."

There is the first intimations of a wind of change at the top of men's tennis. Novak Djokovic and Murray take the first two places with Roger Federer at No 3 having back issues, and David Ferrer, at No 4, withdrawing from Monte Carlo because of a thigh injury. Djokovic, too, is nursing a swollen ankle.

However, the biggest injury story concerns Rafael Nadal, now at No 5. He has made a spectacular return after knee surgery and is preparing to play on a surface that has earned him the title of King of Clay. Nadal, app-roaching 27, has won the Monte Carlo title on eight consecutive occasions. There seems no reason to doubt he can win a ninth, particularly after his impressive title victory on the hard court of Indian Wells last month.

But the season is entering one of its most brutal stretches. How will Nadal's knees stand up? Is Federer's back now a chronic problem? And will Djokovic be fit for Monte Carlo? There are questions to be asked about Murray on clay but none of them concern a readiness to play.

"He is definitely one of the fittest guys on the tour. You could see that in the Miami final he could trust his body to handle whatever was thrown at him," says his mother. "He has the legs, he has the wheels."

The race to glory begins for both in Europe and South America this week.