French open / Andy Morris / 27 May 2009 / 1 Comments

So Andy Murray from Britain has got underway in the French Open. His first round match against the unseeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina went according to plan. Murray let the Argentinian player - ranked some 180 places below the Scotsman - win just five games before closing out the match in straight sets quite easily, writes Julie-Ann Amos.

It was a good start that the Brits will love, but will it all prove too much for Murray?

We are so desperate to see a Grand Slam winner in Britain that Andy knows the pressure on him to see that through is immense. He is seeded third this year for the French Open, meaning that he should not fall until he gets to the semi finals. If he manages that he will be achieving more than he did last year, when he got to the third round. That was his best outing so far at Roland Garros, although he has only played two French Opens thus far.

But no doubt the question will be whether he can beat the two players directly above him in the seedings. Nadal is seeded one, as he should be, and Federer is number two. But Murray has beaten both players in the past - perhaps most notably Nadal to reach last year's US Open.

In short, Murray should have no qualms about the stress of reaching a Grand Slam final. The French Open is the second Grand Slam of the year, so he will be well into his stride by now.

Andy Murray doesn't seem as bothered by the pressure of being one of the best players in the world as Tim Henman arguably was. But will that change if he reaches the final and has a real shot at winning the French Open title? It could be that once it comes down to the wire, the Scot won't be able to take the chances that would bring home the title.

We shall have to wait and see. At the time of writing Murray was waiting to see who he would be playing in round two - Mischa Zverev or Potito Starace. Either way he should win - but we'll take things step by step.