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66 MURRAY arrived in Paris for the French Open having won only five matches since February and on the back of a comprehensive loss to Fa- bio Fognini in the opening round in Rome. The world number one has ex- celled on clay the last two seasons, winning Masters titles and reach- ing his first final at Roland Garros 12 months ago. The chances of a repeat this year appear remote but Petchey does not believe it is too late for Murray to click into gear. Petchey, part of ITV's coverage of the French Open, said: "Obviously it's not what he would have wanted but sometimes in life it doesn't al- ways go smoothly. "There is a little bit of luck in- volved and having to play Fognini late at night in Rome was a very tough draw, it couldn't have been worse. "Andy's always been very good at not getting too high with the highs and too low with the lows and you've got to try and keep it in perspective. "Some things in his game com- pared to last year perhaps would be the bigger concern for him, not dominating as much with his fore- hand, and I think his serve in recent weeks hasn't been as accurate as he would have liked. "I'm sure those are the things (coaches) Ivan (Lendl) and Jamie (Delgado) will be trying to fine tune. He's a great player and, if he can get a couple of wins under his belt, I really feel as though he can still make a great run at the French. "I think it changes after Wimble- don. If he hasn't had a good Wim- bledon - I don't think people need to start panicking but Andy will be a little more concerned because obviously grass is a very natural surface for him and his success rate on that surface is almost second to none." Murray has been struggling with his third illness of the season and a poor practice session on Friday would have done nothing for his fragile confidence. But there were more positive vibes on Saturday as he hit with title dark horse David Goffin in the midday heat, although he was breathing heavily. Murray is spending significant time with Lendl for the first time since his shock loss to Mischa Zverev at the Australian Open. Petchey believes Lendl's presence and the best-of-five-sets format, which tends to play into the hands of the top seeds, are boosts to Mur- ray's prospects. "These guys know how to win over five," said Petchey, who coached Murray at the start of his profes- sional career. "It does give you a little bit more leeway to have a poor start and re- cover. But it's not ideal to have that at the start of the tournament, we've seen that with Andy in the past. "I think last year it cost him a little bit in the final because of the tough five-setters he had. That's one thing Ivan really has done well. When he has won the slams, he's tried to get through that first week as swiftly as he can. "Andy seems to be a lot calmer when Ivan is around. They'll have had a lot of time to have dinner to- gether, to have a good chat about the things he's been through in 2017. "I'm sure they've talked on the phone but just doing it in person is a lot easier. Just to be able to put those thoughts across to someone who's been there and done that, it's invalu- able advice that he'll be getting." The huge amount of work re- quired to get to number one, a sub- sequent drop in motivation and his physical problems have all been put forward by Murray and others as explanations for his difficult 2017. Petchey said: "I think it's a little bit of everything. Getting to number one kind of came out of the blue, the fact he had to do so well at the end of last season, not lose a match, and I think that would have taken a huge amount out of him. "Then he had the shingles and the elbow injury, and everybody needs confidence in life to produce their best. "When it just goes off a few per cent - even in the years when No- vak's won three slams, he's only won 56 per cent of the total points. The margins between victory and defeat in tennis are wafer thin, much thin- ner than a lot of people realise." maltatoday SUNDAY, 28 MAY 2017 Sport TENNIS BOXING Mark Petchey not concerned by Andy Murray's form ahead of French Open Andy Murray's form is not a cause for great concern yet but that would change if it carried on through Wimbledon, according to the Scot's former coach Mark Petchey Oscar De La Hoya brands Floyd Mayweather's mooted showdown with Conor McGregor as a "farce" OSCAR De La Hoya has branded Floyd May- weather's mooted showdown with Conor McGregor a "farce" that could irreparably stain boxing. Mayweather last weekend revealed he is "90 per cent" likely to come out of retirement to face UFC lightweight champion McGregor, who has a license to box in California and claimed he has already signed his contract to take on the American. But former six-weight world champion De La Hoya, who lost a close points decision to Mayweather when they faced off 10 years ago, is aghast that such a potentially highly lucrative bout could go ahead. Mayweather has diligently compiled a per- fect 49-0 record and is widely regarded as the greatest fighter of his generation while his proposed opponent has never boxed profes- sionally. Even though the pair are arguably the high- est-profile athletes in their respective fields and Mayweather has not competed since September 2015, De La Hoya has argued any boxing contest would be a complete mis- match. In an open letter posted on Facebook, De La Hoya wrote: "To my fellow #boxing fans: I write in the hopes that together we can pro- tect the sport of boxing. "With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that the circus known as Floyd Mayweather Vs. Conor McGregor will be coming to town in the near future. "As undercard fights start to take form, ath- letic commissions give their blessings in ex- change for millions of dollars and the fight- ers start counting even more cash, one group will eventually be left to make sure this farce doesn't occur. "We, the fans, who are the life- blood of our sport. "I fully understand the initial attraction from any fan of combat sports. McGregor is almost certainly the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter. Floyd is Floyd — the most dominant boxer of his time. "But success in one sport does not guaran- tee success in another. Far from it. And let's be clear, these are two different sports. "Furthermore, it's not like McGregor would be fighting a good fighter, let alone a medio- cre one. He would be fighting the best. "To use a bit of an extreme analogy, I hap- pen to be a pretty good golfer. Could I poten- tially hold my own on one of the second-tier tours? Maybe. But would I be able to compete with Rory McIlroy, Jordan Speith or Sergio Garcia? Of course not. Nor would I think to try." Golden Boy Promotions chairman and CEO De La Hoya acknowledged those who would question his motives for writing such a letter. Any Mayweather-McGregor showdown lat- er this year could potentially overshadow his company's promotion of the Saul Alvarez- Gennady Golovkin bout in September. But De La Hoya added: "My interest is in the health of boxing as a whole. Our sport might not ever recover." Floyd Mayweather Jr