WATCH: Andy Murray practises on the red dirt in Rome as he eyes shortened clay-court season

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Andy Murray on the clay

He won’t feature at the Italian Open, but Andy Murray is hard at work in Rome as he looks to return to action following a frustrating few months.

The former world No 1 hit the courts at Foro Italico on Sunday as he had a practise session with world No 10 Diego Schwartzman from Argentina.

“I want to play against the highest level players possible because I think that will help me improve my game quicker,” Murray said ahead of the session. “When you are practicing against the best guys it shows up better the things that you need to improve on.”

The three-time Grand Slam winner has not played competitive tennis since March when he lost in the second round in Rotterdam and, although he is still to play on a clay tournament this year, he has ambitions of competing at Roland Garros.

The 33-year-old winner hopes to receive a wildcard for the ATP 250 event at either Geneva or Lyon next week.

Andy Murray on the positive side of missing tournaments: ‘I got to see my kids growing up’

His schedule after that depends on whether he receives a wildcard for Roland Garros. If he does get a direct entry into the main draw then he will likely to play in the ATP 250 event in Parma the week before the French Open.

However, if he fails to receive a wildcard then he will have to go through qualifying.

“I don’t mind if they don’t want to give me a wildcard, that’s fine, they can give them to whoever they want to,” he said.

“It just makes it a bit tricky with planning, but we should find out in the next week or so.”

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Andy Murray

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