Murray: Hard work on clay ‘paying off’

12:30 PM ET

Andy Murray says the hard work he is putting into improving his game on clay is “paying off” as he prepares for another tilt at reaching his first French Open final.

Murray, who is yet to get past the last-four at Roland Garros, remains on course for a successful start to the post-Amelie Mauresmo era after beating Belgium’s David Goffin 6-1, 7-5 to reach the semifinals of the Italian Open.

Murray is finding his form ahead of the year’s second slam, having reached the final at the Madrid Masters recently where he pushed Novak Djokovic all the way in a three-set defeat.

“I always said from the beginning of my career [clay] is the surface I enjoy playing on most,” Murray said after his win over Goffin.

“It’s challenging, it’s hard work. I’ve put a lot of work in to improve on this surface and it’s finally paying off. It’s taken me a while to have good results, a bit more consistency.

“I haven’t been in this position too often in these tournaments. It would be nice to reach my first final here.”

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