Andy Murray’s former coach says it’s too soon to worry about his form

ANDY MURRAY’S form is not a cause for great concern yet but that would change if it carried on through Wimbledon, according to the Scot’s former coach Mark Petchey.

Murray arrived in Paris for the French Open having won only five matches since February and on the back of a comprehensive loss to Fabio Fognini in his opening round in Rome.

The world number one has excelled on clay the last two seasons, winning Masters titles and reaching his first final at Roland Garros 12 months ago.

The chances of a repeat this year appear remote but Petchey does not believe it is too late for Murray to click into gear.

Petchey, part of ITV’s coverage of the French Open, told Press Association Sport: “Obviously it’s not what he would have wanted but sometimes in life it doesn’t always go smoothly.

“There is a little bit of luck involved and having to play Fognini late at night in Rome was a very tough draw, it couldn’t have been worse.

“Andy’s always been very good at not getting too high with the highs and too low with the lows and you’ve got to try and keep it in perspective.

“Some things in his game compared to last year perhaps would be the bigger concern for him, not dominating as much with his forehand, and I think his serve in recent weeks hasn’t been as accurate as he would have liked.

“I’m sure those are the things (coaches) Ivan (Lendl) and Jamie (Delgado) will be trying to fine tune. He’s a great player and, if he can get a couple of wins under his belt, I really feel as though he can still make a great run at the French.

“I think it changes after Wimbledon. If he hasn’t had a good Wimbledon – I don’t think people need to start panicking but Andy will be a little more concerned because obviously grass is a very natural surface for him and his success rate on that surface is almost second to none.”

Murray has been struggling with his third illness of the season and a poor practice session on Friday would have done nothing for his fragile confidence.

But there were more positive vibes on Saturday as he hit with title dark horse David Goffin in the midday heat, although he was breathing heavily.

Murray is spending significant time with Lendl for the first time since his shock loss to Mischa Zverev at the Australian Open.

Petchey believes Lendl’s presence and the best-of-five-sets format, which tends to play into the hands of the top seeds, are boosts to Murray’s prospects.

“These guys know how to win over five,” said Petchey, who coached Murray at the start of his professional career.

“It does give you a little bit more leeway to have a poor start and recover. But it’s not ideal to have that at the start of the tournament, we’ve seen that with Andy in the past.

“I think last year it cost him a little bit in the final because of the tough five-setters he had. That’s one thing Ivan really has done well. When he has won the slams, he’s tried to get through that first week as swiftly as he can.

“Andy seems to be a lot calmer when Ivan is around. They’ll have had a lot of time to have dinner together, to have a good chat about the things he’s been through in 2017.

“I’m sure they’ve talked on the phone but just doing it in person is a lot easier. Just to be able to put those thoughts across to someone who’s been there and done that, it’s invaluable advice that he’ll be getting.”

The huge amount of work required to get to number one, a subsequent drop in motivation and his physical problems have all been put forward by Murray and others as explanations for his difficult 2017.

Petchey said: “I think it’s a little bit of everything. Getting to number one kind of came out of the blue, the fact he had to do so well at the end of last season, not lose a match, and I think that would have taken a huge amount out of him.

“Then he had the shingles and the elbow injury, and everybody needs confidence in life to produce their best.

“When it just goes off a few per cent – even in the years when Novak’s won three slams, he’s only won 56 per cent of the total points. The margins between victory and defeat in tennis are wafer thin, much thinner than a lot of people realise.”

Coverage of the French Open starts on ITV4 at 9.30am Sunday.