Murray Injury Hope

Andy Murray says that he hopes to have fully recovered from a back injury in time to make a real impact at the upcoming French Open.

The British number one was forced to pull out of last week's Madrid Open, having suffered a recurrence of a back injury, but returned to the ATP Tour in Rome.

Murray crashed out of the clay-court event at the third round, after losing in three sets to Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, 6-7 (1/7) 6-3 6-2.

The 25-year-old admitted after the match that all was not well with his fitness – a real concern with the French Open, on May 28.

Murray is behind both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the stakes to win the French Open, according to the Betfair Tennis betting website.

 Murray said: "My back was a little bit sore towards the end, but I was expecting that coming into the tournament.

"I've had it a while, since December. Obviously, since then, there hasn't been that much time to take an extended break."

Even though there is not much time until the year's second Grand Slam gets underway, the world number four remains optimistic about the impact that he can have at the Roland Garros.

Murray added: "Hopefully, by the time the French Open comes around, I'll be in peak condition. That's the goal."

Murray, who has one title to his name so far, this year, had made a sound start to the 2012 clay-court run, before his recent injury setback.

The three-time Grand Slam finalist reached the quarter-finals in both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, although on both occasions he was beaten by lower-ranked players - Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic.

For more information on gambling on professional tennis, visit the betting.betfair.com website.