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PESCHICI. — Whether he likes it or not, Rafael Nadal will seek to rubber-stamp his status as the favourite for the French Open tennis title when he heads to the Rome Masters today looking to underline his return to form on clay.World number one Andy Murray may have wowed the crowds at the Foro Italico last year when he bossed Serbia’s four-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final to claim his maiden win in the Italian capital.

But what was just the Scot’s third title on the surface, following wins in Munich and Madrid, has never looked further away.

A year on from a triumph that suggested Murray had finally mastered the toughest surface of them all, the 29-year-old is back to square one after a humiliating exit to unseeded 20-year-old Croat Borna Coric before the business end of the Madrid Masters began earlier this week.

By contrast, Nadal cruised to a 14-0 win record on clay when he ousted long-time rival Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals on Saturday. — AFP