Andy Murray admits he's in a battle for form but claims it's only a matter of time before he is firing again.
Murray is the top seed for the French Open, the season's second Grand Slam, and opens his campaign against Russian Andrey Kuznetsov at Roland Garros.
With only one tournament win this season, the 30-year old has cut a frustrated figure in recent weeks, failing to go beyond the third round in the Masters 1000 tournaments in Rome, Madrid and Monte Carlo.
"Obviously the last few months haven't been very good," he admitted. "I've not been playing well and you need to accept that you are struggling sometimes.
"I'll get through it but when that happens, who knows? The only way to get back into form is to keep playing and keep working on things and that's what I'm doing. It's obviously frustrating but struggles are what make the good times so enjoyable I suppose."
Murray caught shingles after the Australian Open before an elbow injury conspired against him during the early US hard court season.
He admits struggling for motivation after reaching world number one status last year - but claims he's rediscovered his rhythm with his Wimbledon title defence fast approaching.
"I am motivated, I wouldn't be practicing for three hours out there if I wasn't - I'd have stayed home in bed," he added.
Murray reached the final in Paris for the first time last year, losing in four sets to Novak Djokovic.
He'll need to come through some tough matches to reach the same stage again with Olympic final opponent Juan Martin Del Potro and former French Open winner Stan Wawrinka among the potential rivals on his side of the draw.
That means managing expectations is the name of the game in Paris before heading to the grass court season, a similar tactic for British women's number one Johanna Konta.
The number seven seed is making her third appearance in Paris but has yet to win a match here - with her game not naturally suited to clay.
She will look to break her duck against world number 109 Su-wei Hsieh, who also is not a fan of the surface.
"I'm really enjoying this part of the season," insisted Konta, who won the biggest tournament of her career in Miami earlier this year but has only won twice on clay in recent weeks.
"I want the opportunity to improve my game on this surface and to grow as a player. I want to work on that transition from hard courts to clay courts to grass.
"I'm setting no targets, I'm just looking to stay here for as long as possible. If I keep improving, that's what is most important to me right now."
Sportsbeat 2017