Wednesday, 9 April, 2008

Former French Open finalist Alex Corretja will help Andy Murray during the clay court season, it was announced on Friday.

The 20-year-old British number one has been working with a team of experts instead of one coach this season after parting company with Brad Gilbert last year.

Murray said: "It's great for me to be able to work with a clay-court specialist like Alex. He had a fantastic career and I am looking forward to learning from his experiences."

Spaniard Corretja believes Murray can be successful on clay despite failing to excel on the surface so far during his professional career.

Murray missed most of the nine-week spell, which also includes Masters Series events in Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg, last season because of a wrist injury.

He therefore has a good opportunity to boost his ranking, which is set to fall outside the top 20 on Monday, as he has very few points to defend.

Corretja said: "I have watched Andy play several times over the last couple of years, and in particular his close match against (Rafael) Nadal in Madrid in October, and saw that he has tremendous potential to play well on all surfaces and I am flattered to have been asked to be part of his team during the clay court season."

Corretja, 33, was twice a beaten finalist at Roland Garros - in 1998 and 2001 - and was ranked number two in the world in 1999. He won 17 titles before retiring in 2004.

Murray will play his first clay event at the ATP Tour event in Valencia, which starts on April 14.

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