JAMIE MURRAY has backed his brother Andy to finish the job against Joao Sousa in the French Open second round - after he softened him up in the doubles.

While the world No.3 has had two days of inactivity to prepare for today's meeting with the world No.44 from Portugal, Sousa and his partner Thomaz Bellucci had to play for just short of two hours in the Roland Garros heat before suffering a demoralising 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Jamie and his Aussie partner John Peers.

"Those guys are pretty fit, I don't think he [Sousa] will be stressing about that," said Jamie. "Sometimes it isn't good to have too many days off, because you can lose your rhythm. If both guys play their best level then Andy's level is higher, but I guess he [Sousa] is a dangerous guy.

"He plays well on clay, even though his best results have been on the hard court. He has a dangerous forehand, he can definitely give it a bit of a hit, but I would definitely fancy Andy to win that match."

Sousa will have other ideas, however.

The 26-year-old, who, like Murray, left his home in Guimaraes to seek fame and fortune when he was just 15, said yesterday that he will take inspiration from his countrymen Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao as he attempts to turn his meeting with Murray into the tennis equivalent of El Clasico.

While Murray used to sneak out of practice at Sanchez-Casal periodically for the odd impromptu visit to the Nou Camp - indeed, he was back there for a match earlier this season - Sousa is another client of Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes and the Portuguese connection meant he always gravitated to the Bernabeu instead.

"I haven't met [Jose] Mourinho, but I know guys like Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe, James Rodrigues and Coentrao very well," said Sousa.

"They are the best in the world at what they do, which in this case is football. It's great to deal with them and to live some experiences with them.

"Of course Ronaldo is an inspiration," he added. "He's a hard worker. He always wants to be better. He's a great inspiration not only for me but for all the people who want to be better at something. I'm a Madrid fan. All my friends are from Barcelona, so I like to be the opposite and pinch them a little bit."

Andy, meanwhile, said that while having the new Mrs Murray alongside him for the first time at a tournament was helping his bid for a maiden Roland Garros win, he wouldn't be changing his usual routine.

"Yeah that [Monday's first-round victory against Facundo Arguello] would have been the first time she was watching live," said the 28-year-old.

"It is nice having her here. When you are spending a lot of time in one place it feels a bit like Groundhog Day sometimes.

"She wasn't here at the beginning, but she arrived last Friday evening and it is good," he added. "During the evening she can go out and do stuff, but obviously you have a bunch of people, friends and people you work with, at all the major events. We went out to dinner together once, but normally we just go out to dinner with the team."

The World No.3 is the last Brit remaining in the Roland Garros draw, after Kyle Edmund was forced to withdraw from the tournament with a stomach muscle injury. His departure means that Nick Kyrgios of Australia is confirmed as Murray's third-round opponent if he gets through.