I've gone for Andy in straight sets, presuming his head's together.

I'll reserve judgement on potential 2nd round against Nadal ( or Clement )

I understand that Andy has been practising quite a bit in the last week with Noval Djokovic.

So quite good to see Novak took Federer to 3 sets, only losing  6-3 2-6 6-3.

Hopefully means Andy in decent form, and had given him a good warm up.

Hey, I'll take encouragement from anywhere

I've gone for Murray in 3, I think it take a set for him to get into gear, remember he's only played a doubles match since Miami.

As for Clement beating Nadal on clay we can but dream!...

Andy beating Nadal on the other hand.....(once again, we can but dream)

roughly what time will this match be played, does anyone know? And will anyone be able to provide commentary for those of us without viewing ability (or is sky not covering it till later in the week?)

A strange match ultimately decided by Andy's lack of fitness. He looked short of match fitness during the second set, had the trainer out before the start of the third, and by the 3 hour mark his body had practically given up. Throughout the third set he made no attempt to spring up to hit the serve, merely kicking gentle serves in play. Leg cramps left him unable to move for the final two games as Lisnard broke and then served out the match. There was more than a touch of Queens last year to the final set of the match.

In the first set Andy appeared to be doing enough to win the match without ever playing that well. Lisnard, an athletic player, fast on his feet, running around his backhand whenever possible, and attacking the net to hit numerous volley winners, was a decent opponent. Andy broke to lead 1-0, lost it, broke again for 4-3, lost it in a nightmare service game in which he lead 40-0 and had 6 game points, then again for 5-4. He reached set point, then found himself break point down, before producing a couple of decent serves and taking the set on an error by his opponent. The relief was evident on his face as he went to the chair a set up.

There was no obvious pattern to the points. Sometimes Andy would attack, hitting fierce returns of serve, double-handed backhands down the line, big forehand winners. At other times Lisnard would force Andy deep behind the baseline from where Andy strugggled to get his passing shots over the net. Long rallies forehand to forehand, Andy mixed up his spins, threw in some high bouncing shots to the backhand side, the odd slice, and a few drop shots that lost him more than they won in the opening two sets. Andy attacked the net on occasion but with limited success as his opponent produced superb passing shots for clean winners.

The standard of play was mixed. More errors than you would hope to see from Andy but still enough winners to hint at his potential. Forehand to forehand was an even contest, Lisnard was a clear winner at the net and on passing shots, while Andy's backhand was much the stronger shot. Once again the serve was the real killer for Andy: a few more big first serves in play, a few more cheap points and this could have been a very different match.

Lisnard's level dropped at the start of the second set as Murray went 2-0 up. From then on Lisnard regained his composure, got the break back, and fought hard for the rest of the set. Having broken to lead 5-4  Andy served for the match only to find Lisnard in top form, playing aggressive tennis and breaking back for 5-5.

The tiebreak was a miserable affair; Andy's errors gifted Lisnard at least 5 of his 7 points, at a time when Lisnard was having problems with his own game. Behind from the start Murray recovered to 5-5 only to double fault then fire a forehand long.

Into the third set a clearly struggling Murray did amazingly well to break to lead 4-2, inspired drop shots winning perhaps 8 of the 10 attempts in this set. But without any sort of first serve he was reliant on errors from his opponent to win enough points each time he served.

Not surprisingly, Lisnard pushed hard to recover the break and finally finished off Murray who could barely run for the ball.

In summary, Kim wore dark shades, Andy started the match in black but finished in white. He had enough chances to win the match without playing anywhere near his best, but a few too many missed first serves and a few too many attempted return winners off inviting second serves that went long or crashed into the net, meant that the match went into a third set that favoured his fully fit opponent.

For a first match on clay this season it was not that bad a performance and despite all the coaching disagreements about tactics, I thought he wasn't far short of a sensible balance between aggression and safety.

As for being a contender on the clay, I think it may take a year or two to figure out how to structure the points in his favour. There were hopeful signs: his first serve has the potential to be a weapon even on clay, the double-handed backhand is a tremendous shot, and by the third set the drop shots were simply delicious. But without a reliable big serve and a competitive forehand, clay is going to be a struggle.

Interview on the Monte Carlo web site with Andy after his defeat to Lisnard.....

http://montecarlo.masters-series.com/en/players/interviews/stories/06_murray2.asp