Do not be deterred from backing fifth favourite Murray at French Open
Published:Andy Murray may have lost the final of the Dubai Championships to Roger Federer, but 14/1 does look a big price that he builds on the defeat by winning a first Grand Slam at the French Open.
Having beaten Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the semi finals in Dubai, Murray would have been hopeful of collecting an early trophy in 2012.
However, largely as a result of a first-serve percentage of less than 50 per cent, Murray failed to get the job done as Federer wrapped up an undisputed fifth victory in the Dubai Championships.
But things can only look up for Murray and he will be optimistic of ironing out some more creases during the remainder of the early hard court season ahead of the French Open.
His partnership with Ivan Lendl is still at a relatively early stage, but already improvements in his serve have been noticeable in the tournament, alongside a calmer on-court demeanour.
Meanwhile, he begins his spring campaign in far better shape than in the past two years, as he was troubled by a wrist injury at this stage last season and in 2010 he was having trouble mentally with his game.
There is certainly no grounds to suggest why Murray is the fifth favourite to win the French Open, given that three of the last four Grand Slams have witnessed the top four men’s seeds reach the semi finals.
Furthermore, Murray has progressed to the last four in all of the Grand Slams since the 2010 US Open.
It certainly seems strange that Murray is a bigger price than the 12/1 offered on Juan Martin del Potro, while he perhaps should be closer to Novak Djokovic at 6/4.
Rafael Nadal is unsurprisingly the favourite at 1/1 to win the French Open for a seventh time in eight years.
