Andy Murray insists he's unfazed by daunting draw in French Open

HE may be a season old pro of five years standing – and usually winning – on the main tour, but Andy Murray is finding this year's French Open to be something of a novelty.

Murray is just emerging from a slump in form and as he puts the finishing touches to his preparations at Roland Garros, for once he is not the main topic of conversation around the practice courts.

Clay remains his weakest surface and he is still learning the finer points of adapting his game to the slow red dirt. Added to which, he has been given a fierce draw with Richard Gasquet, the former world No7, providing the first obstacle in Murray's path.

No matter – Murray is hopeful that his game and his luck will come together in time to launch a decent challenge on the second grand slam event of the year.

There is no good time to play a big player and the Scot is ready to have to knuckle down and start playing his best tennis from the very first ball.

"It's going to be a great atmosphere and it's going to a fun match to play in," Murray said. "For a long time he's (Gasquet] been France's favourite to win a grand slam because he was unbelievably good when he was playing the juniors and then, obviously, he had some great wins when he first came on the tour so it's going to be a very, very difficult match, but whether it's a first round or a third round, it doesn't really make a huge difference – you should be ready for whoever you've got to play from the first match.

"The one thing I know is that it's not a match I'm going into being the favourite, which probably hasn't happened in a slam for quite a few years. So it will be a different sort of feeling.

"Obviously with him playing at home in front of his home supporters and crowd, I'll have to deal with that and make sure I'm ready for it. I'll definitely be focused for the match and be ready to play five long sets if I have to."

Certainly Gasquet is a hugely talented player with a backhand that many men would pay serious money to possess, but he has a brittle temperament and when the pressure mounts, so Gasquet's knees start to buckle.

In 23 grand slam campaigns, the 23-year-old Gasquet has only reached one semi final.

When Gasquet faces Murray, the Scot knows that the spotlight will be on his opponent and the French crowd will not so much hope that their man does well, they will demand it.

The Roland Garros faithful do not take failure well and have, in the past, reduced their own players to tears with cat-calls and whistles when the match starts to slip away.

"You have to be a bit selfish and play for yourself when you're out on the court," Murray explained. "It would be impossible to play if you played thinking about everybody wanting you to win the match.

"You need to get that out of your head and just play and stay focused on what's going on the court. And I know it can be difficult but it's something that in professional sport, especially an individual one, you have to be able to do because no one can help you out when you're out there."

Gasquet's current ranking of No68 is clearly not a reflection of his talent. His position slumped last year following a two-and-a-half month ban after he tested positive for cocaine at the Miami Masters. The amounts of the drug found in his sample were minimal and he protested his innocence, claiming that he must have been contaminated with the cocaine after kissing a woman called Pamela at a nightclub. But the conviction stood even if the punishment was nominal.

It has taken him a long time to recover from that experience but he has hit form at just the right moment. and will play Fernando Verdasco in the final of the Nice tournament today after beating Potito Starace 7-6, 7-6 yesterday.

Gasquet holds a 2-1 winning record over Murray but the last time they met, Murray won in a five-set thriller at Wimbledon, the Scot coming back from two sets and a break of serve down.

At the time, Murray thought it was one of the best matches he had played in his life but since then he has reached two grand slam finals and established himself in the world's top four. Gasquet, on the other hand, has not.

The Frenchman is the first test in what could prove to be a monumental task for Murray as powerful Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, Czech 15th seed Tomas Berdych, French crowd favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world No1 Roger Federer all lie ahead of him on his side of the draw.

But his form in Madrid last week and his present state of mind seem to suggest that Scotland's finest is once again ready for the grand slam fray. And after the past few months, that would be a novelty for Murray.