Murray to play Barcelona after Monte Carlo misery

Barcelona - Stuttering world No 1 Andy Murray will attempt to get his season back on track after the Scot accepted an invitation to compete at the Barcelona Open next week.

Murray's Monte Carlo Masters campaign came to a premature end on Thursday when he lost to Spain's 15th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the third round to get his clay-court campaign off to a poor start in the build-up to Roland Garros.

Murray, 29, who has played Barcelona four times and never won the ATP 500 title, joins Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, Kei Nishikori and Dominic Thiem from the world top 10 in the tournament.

Albert Costa, the Barcelona Open tournament director, called Murray's inclusion "the icing on a main draw".

Murray is still working his way back to top form and fitness following an elbow injury.