Andy Murray has said that skipping this year's French Open could be a "blessing" as he has had extra days to prepare for the upcoming grass-court season and Wimbledon in particular.
Murray's withdrawal because of a back injury ended a run of three successive Grand Slam finals and was also his first missed Slam since Wimbledon six years ago.
"After the French Open last year I took five or six days off and when I started practising again I felt really comfortable on the grass straight away and that isn't normally the case," said the Scot.
"Grass takes time to get used to. I've been on it for 10 days or so now and that's probably a week longer than I would have had if I'd been at the French," the US Open champion told British newspapers on Saturday.
"It's more than I've had the past few years and I've been playing better and better each day in practice so hopefully it turns out to be a blessing."
Rafael Nadal faces off against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in tomorrow's final at Roland Garros.
Pascal Lemesre
