ROGER FEDERER has good cause to tread cautiously as he returns to Roland Garros. It was one year ago on the famous red courts that he received the worst hiding of his grand slam career, clumped in the French Open final by Rafael Nadal and able to salvage just four games in the 108-minute battering. It was the beginning of the end of Federer's reign at the top and the scars were deep and painful.
But this year, as the Swiss prepares for his annual quest for the one grand slam trophy that has eluded him, he has more to worry about. This year he has Andy Murray to contend with and the Scot is in bullish mood. Dunblane's favourite son may not b
e the favourite to win the title in Paris but he has other plans. Federer's No 2 spot in the rankings is within reach and Murray's appetite for battle has been whetted.
"That's what I want to try and do here," Murray said in a very matter-of-fact manner. "From the start of the tournament, I've obviously got a lot to gain and unless he wins the tournament, he's going to lose (ranking] points. I could do it here at this tournament. That's not necessarily the thing that will drive me to try and win matches here, but when you get closer to doing something or achieving something like that – to overtake Roger Federer in the rankings – it's big news. It's not like it happens very often. It took Nadal three years of being No 2 in the world before he did it. But I just need to concentrate on my own game and not worry about what he does."
This year the ATP has reorganised the tournament schedule and rearranged the allocation of ranking points at major events. Now there are more points available to the winners of titles, slightly fewer for the runners up and a bigger share of points for those in the last few rounds.
The rankings are worked out on a 12-month rolling calendar which basically means that everything a player did last year at a specific event, he must repeat if he is to keep his spot in the pecking order or better if he is to move up. But for this year only, repeating last year's efforts will not be enough. In 2008, Federer earned 1,400 points for reaching the French Open final but this year he will earn only 1,200 for reaching the final. And dropping 200 points with Murray breathing down his neck is not good news for the Swiss.
Murray, by contrast, reached only the third round in Paris last year – earning 150 points – so if he can get to the fourth round or better this time, he will start to close the 1,450-point gap between himself and Federer. If the Swiss goes out in the any of the first three rounds and Murray reaches the quarter finals, Murray will overtake Federer. If Federer were to lose in the quarter finals and Murray were to reach the last four, Murray would not only be Scotland's finest but the world's second finest.
Murray, though, is experienced enough not to let himself become distracted by the 'ifs' and 'buts' and is just trying to concentrate on the job in front of him. He will begin his French Open campaign today against Juan Ignacio Chela.
The last six weeks of working hard on his clay-court tactics and techniques have brought him a semi-final spot at the Monte Carlo Masters and a quarter-final berth at the Madrid Masters this year. In spells during that run, he has played like a potential champion but, at other times, he has not quite trusted his ability to move on the alien surface and has lost to the more experienced clay-court players (and they have not been bad either – Nadal in Monaco, Juan Monaco in Rome and Juan Martin Del Potro in Madrid). Murray's progress has been smooth and consistent.
"I wanted to try and make quarter-finals and semi-finals at the Masters," he said, "but it wasn't like I was thinking that I was just going to get there easily. I knew that I had to play my very best tennis from the start of the tournament, which I don't necessarily have to do on the other courts. But no, the progress has been kind of as I expected. I hope I can play well here."
Certainly the rest of the world is looking at Murray in a different light now. In the past, any British player at Roland Garros was only pestered by the British media trying to flam up a story of a potential second-round place for Tim Henman or Greg Rusedski. But when Murray walks into any tournament on any surface, the world's press hang on his every word.
"I try and block that sort of stuff out," Murray said. "I don't think about it that much because I don't feel like it makes a huge difference to how it makes you perform. At Wimbledon everyone says, 'there's so much pressure on you because of all the people that are watching' and therefore if you're at a place where less people know you or don't watch the practices or whatever, then in theory there should be less pressure. But, for me, I view all of the slams, all of the big tournaments as being the same. It's not like, just because less people come to watch me here or watch my practices, that I don't have the same intensity and focus."
The draw, made on Friday, mapped out a possible route past Chela in the first round, Feliciano Lopez in the third round and Gilles Simon in the quarter-finals to set up an appointment with Nadal in the semi-finals – and a last-four place could be Murray's springboard to the world No 2 position. Pressure or not, Murray's focus is pin sharp and Federer has good reason to be wary.
HOW TO BE THE No2
Andy Murray will overtake Roger Federer to reach No 2 in the world rankings if the Swiss goes out in the first three rounds and the Scot reaches the quarter-finals. If Federer loses in the quarter-finals and Murray reaches the last four, he'll also move above him.
• Murray's first-round match against Juan Ignacio Chela is scheduled to be the last match on the Suzanne Lenglen Court tonight. If he wins, the Scot will face a second-round meeting with either Germany's Mischa Zverev or Potito Starace of Italy.
• The first seeded player the world No 3 could meet is Feliciano Lopez, the 28th seed from Spain, which does not look too daunting a draw. Marin Cilic, the 13th seed, in the fourth round and France's Gilles Simon, the seventh seed, in the quarters could be where Murray struggles. If the Scot reaches the semis, he'll probably face Rafael Nadal.
• Nadal, the reigning four-time champion, will open his campaign against qualifier Marcos Daniel of Brazil. The Spaniard could meet former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt and compatriot David Ferrer before a possible quarter-final match against Fernando Verdasco.
• Roger Federer, the second seed, beat Nadal in Madrid last week but has yet to claim the title at Roland Garros, losing to the Mallorcan on his last four visits here. The Swiss opens up against Spain's Alberto Martin.
