World No 1 Andy Murray has accepted a wildcard entry at the Barcelona Open and will play Australia’s Bernard Tomic on Wednesday.

Murray, who was beaten in the third-round by Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Monte Carlo, is searching for his first title of 2017.

This will also give Murray more match time on clay before the French Open, which begins on May 28.

Barcelona is where Murray played his first professional match in 2005, aged 17, where he lost to Czech Jan Hernych. Murray was based in Barcelona from the age of 15.

“I was here in Barcelona for two years and I loved it. I would say that they were two of the best years of my life,” Murray said.

“It was the first time that I was away from my family home and even though it was hard, it was the first time I’d tasted independence”.

Murray won his first clay-court title in Munich in 2015. He won the Italian Open last year and reached the final of the French Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.