Murray relaxed as Shanghai looms

Andy Murray admits he needs to be “realistic” about his chances at this week’s Madrid Masters as he returns to action for the first time since last month’s Davis Cup.

Murray, whose previous appearance in an ATP Tour event was in the final of the US Open, has been taking a break for the last few weeks as he prepares himself for an end-of-season push that is largely focussed on the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

He is back in action this week though and, after losing in the first round of the doubles with brother Jamie yesterday, the world number four will begin his singles challenge with a second round clash against Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli later today.

Bolelli, who only got the chance to take part in the tournament after Marat Safin withdrew through injury, upset world number 17 Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7/4) 6-1 yesterday to set up the meeting with Murray.

“I’ve never played him before,” Murray said of Bolelli.

“He’s a solid player, he has good groundstrokes, a decent serve, he moves pretty well.

“Obviously I haven’t played for a few weeks, the last matches I played were on grass. I have to have realistic expectations about the next week or so and just try to get back into a rhythm and hopefully try to play well.”

For Murray, who received a bye in the opening round, the pressure is off slightly this week as he has already qualified for next month’s Masters Cup in Shanghai – an event he is eager to do well in.

However, the 21-year-old knows that with four spots for Shanghai still available, and all of the world’s top 30 players taking part in the Madrid Masters, it is not going to be easy to clinch his fourth title of the year in the Spanish capital.

“I’m looking forward to it (Shanghai), that’s what I’m preparing for just now,” Murray said.

“I took a few weeks off to give myself some extra time and in these next few weeks, I’m going to play a few matches and get ready for that.

“Obviously these tournaments are important but getting to Shanghai was my goal for the year, there’s not as much pressure on me to win over these few weeks.

“Hopefully I can get a few matches under my belt before Shanghai, but I played well at the end of October so hopefully I can do the same again.”

He added: “There’s a lot of motivation for the guys (at the Madrid Masters), and also you are right into the thick of it. You’ve got to be switched on right from the start.

“I’ve not played for a while so I’m just trying to take each match at a time.”

Should Murray progress past Bolelli then the rest of the draw could see him facing Fernando Gonzalez, Andy Roddick and Roger Federer in subsequent rounds, barring any upsets.

Murray could only face world number one and home favourite Rafael Nadal if he reaches the final, and the Scot insists he is not thinking about gaining revenge for his defeat to the Spaniard in the third round of last year’s tournament.

“We are in opposite sides of the draw so there is a lot of tennis to be played before we could face each other,” Murray said.

“I’m not sure I’m going to get there so we’ll have to wait and see, but there was a great atmosphere when I played him last year.”