Andy Murray puts injury scare aside for favourable French Open draw

A kind draw, against the 118th-ranked Frenchman Eric Prodon, and kind words from his peers: Andy Murray couldn't have asked for much more going into the French Open. Returned to near full working order after the horrors of his post-Melbourne trauma and an injury scare this week, the Scot has the respect of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer – not to mention the luxury of playing qualifiers in the first and second rounds. Presuming he beats the 29-year-old Prodon, who has never won a match in a slam, he plays either the Italian Simone Bolelli (129th) or the Canadian Frank Dancevic (179th). "I have been playing well on the clay," Murray said on Friday, "better than previous years. I've been training well. Physically, I'm in good shape." That was encouraging news after he pulled out of an exhibition match at the last minute on Thursday to guard a slight groin strain and stiffness after a hard pre-tournament workout in London earlier in the week. "I was just a bit stiff and sore," he said. The world No4 has Nadal on his side of the draw, but draws no comfort from that, even though the world No1 has been falling at the feet of Djokovic all year and faces a tough match against the American John Isner in the opening round. "It's tough to say you're relieved to be on a guy's side who has won the tournament five times," Murray pointed out. "And you don't really look that far ahead. I always know what's going on in the draw, but you just can't get ahead of yourself in these tournaments. The depth of the men's game is so strong right now." Murray made a point of praising Heather Watson for qualifying, although he does not know the British player well. "She has good balance on the court, very solid. She's obviously doing well in the seniors, and it won't be very long before she's in the top 100, and hopefully higher. It's great that she's managed to qualify here on a surface that she probably hasn't played too much on."