Andy Murray has backed his decision to miss the The Open 13 tournament in Marseille as he prepares for the Dubai Championships.
The world number four is set to make his first appearance this week since losing to Roger Federer in the final of the Australian Open on January 31, after opting not to play in Rotterdam and Marseille in the past couple of weeks.
The 22-year-old was criticised by organisers of the French tournament, who felt that the Scot had let the sponsors down with his no-show last week.
However, Murray responded to criticism by explaining that he has to rest his body and mind ahead of a busy few weeks with the American hard court season hot on the heels of his current assignment in the Emirates.
"I need to make sure that I'm fresh going into all the tournaments that I play," he said.
"I don't want to be going over to Indian Wells, Miami with niggles. By the end of that month you're undoubtedly going to be hurting so you don't want to go into the tournaments already sore."
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So I need to make sure that I take enough time after, like in Australia. I need to make sure that I'm fresh. My back was sore, my knee was hurting, my hip. After Australia you need to make sure that you got those things right."
Murray's route to the final in Dubai has been made easier by the fact that his potential semi-final opponent, Federer, has had to withdraw from the tournament due to a lung infection.