**Andy Murray will begin his clay court season at the Monte Carlo Masters this week, aiming to reignite his stuttering start to the year.**The 22-year-old was set to miss the event, but a bad run of form since his Australian Open final defeat by Roger Federer has prompted a schedule change.
His latest setback came at the Miami Masters in March as he lost in straight sets to Mardy Fish in the second round.
Murray is yet to win a title in 2010, having won six last year.
Before his defeat in Miami the British number one was well beaten by Robin Soderling in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters, while Janko Tipsarevic prevailed against the Scot in the last 16 of the ATP World Tour in Dubai in February.
Had Murray fared better in Miami then he would have almost certainly skipped the Monte Carlo tournament, which is not a mandatory event.
However, as he looks to step up his preparations for the French Open in May, Murray asked for a wildcard entry and will be seeded third which means he receives a bye into the second round.
There he will play either Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber or Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil.
If Murray successfully negotiates his way past that hurdle then he is seeded to play Austria’s Jurgen Melzer in the third round, while veteran Ivan Ljubicic - the surprise champion in Indian Wells - is also in his quarter of the draw.
In the same tournament last year Murray achieved his best result on clay by reaching the semi-finals, before being knocked out by Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard has been dogged by injury and has not won a title since May 2009 and is seeded second, with last year’s runner-up Novak Djokovic the top seed.
World number one Roger Federer has opted to skip Monte Carlo as he prepares for his Roland Garros defence.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.