Britain’s number one Andy Murray has had a strange couple of weeks, a fantastic win over the “King of Clay” Rafael Nadal in the final of the Madrid Masters but then this week he had to pull out of the Italian Open in Rome because of fatigue.

His win over Rafael Nadal has really shown that he is now one of the strong favourites to win the French Open in Paris which starts later this month. Rafael Nadal is probably the best ever clay court player and to beat him in his home country is a fantastic achievement from Andy Murray; perhaps his recent marriage is doing his tennis the world of good!

Andy Murray’s win in Madrid was his first Masters title on clay and his first win over Nadal on clay too. It was undoubtedly his best ever performance in clay and he won in straight sets too which is some achievement considering Nadal had never lost a set in Madrid before.

After the Madrid masters Andy then flew to Rome for the Italian Open but although beating Jeremy Chardy in straight sets he then pulled out of the tournament with fatigue giving David Goffin a bye into the next round.

Although this was obviously a disappointment for the tournament organisers and his fans that had travelled to Rome he had played ten matches in fourteen days with some matches not finishing until the early hours of the morning.

Only time will tell whether this was the right decision but top sportsmen should always listen to their bodies and if he felt this was the best option then so be it. He has certainly played some fantastic clay court tennis over the last few weeks and will be arriving in Paris full of confidence although we at Rocket feel that Novak Djokovic will take the crown this year.