• Chris Wilkinson

A change is as good as a rest

Andy Murray reached the semi-finals in Monte Carlo last year © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Murray stands firm over Davis Cup
  
• What the Deuce: Clay king Rafa ready to reign again
  
• News: Leon Smith named as Great Britain's Davis Cup captain
  
• News: Murray looking to rediscover magic in Monte Carlo
  
• Profile: Andy Murray | Rafael Nadal | Andy Roddick

The European clay-court season gets underway in Monte Carlo this week and Andy Murray is in action earlier than expected. After a poor showing in Miami he has been granted a wildcard in Monaco as he looks to get his season back on track.

The transition from the hard courts to the clay is not an easy one for a player - there are big differences between the two surfaces, and the change takes time to get used to. You need to approach your matches differently and adapt your style of play for the slower courts.

Although the clay isn't as physically tough on your body and is kinder on the limbs, you need to be able to adapt your movement around the court and be prepared to take the ball at shoulder height - the ball bounces higher on clay.

You don't get as many cheap points on clay but you are able to slice the ball a lot more. Players who hit a lot of winners on the hard court have to adapt their game and be more patient when it comes to hitting the winning shot.

Although clay is not Murray's favourite surface, I think the change is just what he needs. He'll have to think about his game a lot more on clay and that could get him motivated again. He has been all over the shop over the past few weeks, and the switch to clay could be the ideal boost for his game.

He reached the semi-finals at Monte Carlo last year so he knows he can play well on clay. It will be interesting to see how he gets on - he really needs to win some points over the next few weeks to stop him sliding down the rankings.

Nadal still the man to beat on clay
You would expect Rafael Nadal to dominate the clay season - he is playing well and looks to be nearly back to his best. He looked strong in Indian Wells and Miami, but just seemed to lack that killer instinct. But he is hitting the ball as well as anyone else in the world, and moving onto his favourite surface he will get that confidence back and that final belief will come. He will be the favourite to clean up in Monte Carlo, Rome and to regain his French Open title for the fifth time.

Other than Nadal, I think the ones to watch will be Fernando Verdasco and Robin Soderling. They are both playing well at the moment and their games are well suited to clay. Verdasco is just outside the top ten and is getting better all the time, while Soderling reached the final at the French Open last year and will be a tough opponent.

Obviously Juan Martin del Potro is dangerous on clay but he has been injured and, even if he is fit in time, it's going to be hard for him. Andy Roddick has won the most matches of any player on the tour this year, but his game is not suited to clay so I can't see him doing too much.

Watch out for the Belgians
It's great to see Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin back - it's brilliant for the women's game. Clijsters looked to be back to her best as she comfortably beat Venus Williams to win the title in Miami.

They are both good clay-court players and have both been brought up playing on the surface. Henin has a great record at Roland Garros and will be the favourite to win it for a fifth time.

Unlike in the men's game there are no real dominant forces on clay; Serena Williams is struggling for fitness and last year's French Open champion Svetlana Kuzetsova is not playing that well at the moment. My outside bet would be Elena Dementieva - she's already won two titles this year and reached the final at the French in 2004.

A fresh approach for Davis Cup tennis
I think Leon Smith's appointment as Davis Cup captain is a good choice. It's important to try to get Andy Murray involved in the team. Smith knows Murray well as they've worked together in the past, so from that perspective it's a fair decision.

He knows the British players; he will have trained with a lot of them at the National Training Centre and has a head start in the fact that he will already know a lot of the guys on a one-to-one basis. In the short term he will need to lift the guys for their crucial clash against Turkey in July, but really they haven't got much to lose - they are so low already. With Smith's appointment they should be looking at long-term improvement rather than a quick-fix.

I don't think the fact that Smith has never played Davis Cup will be a major issue - it would be very different if Britain were playing in the World Group, but in the third tier it is an entirely different kettle of fish.

According to the Times, when the LTA approached the players, more than 60 per cent of them wanted Rusedski as captain. I think it's quite clear that keeping Murray on board was the LTA's priority. They took on board some of the players' remarks, but ultimately they will do what they want to do.

Chris Wilkinson is a former British No. 1. He joins ESPN.co.uk as our resident expert, providing an exclusive view on the world of tennis.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.