Andy Murray sees concentration as the key to improving on his recent performances in Indian Wells and Miami.
The No. 2-ranked Murray won just two matches combined at the two tournaments.
"I've definitely been a little bit flat since the Davis Cup, really," he said following a three-set win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert in Monte Carlo. “I don't know exactly why that's been the case. But in a lot of my matches, it's been that way, you know—some good stuff mixed in with some pretty bad stuff.
"When I've been playing well, I'm actually hitting the ball very clean. But just the consistency has not been there; maybe not as sharp as I could be mentally. Concentration's not been so good … That's something that, again—especially on this surface— needs to be better."
The Scot did not attribute his subpar play to recently becoming a father, with daughter Sophia now a couple of months old.
"For me, I don't think it has anything to do with it," he insisted. "If that was the case, [in] the Davis Cup I would have played rubbish. That was immediately after the birth, and I played well there. That's really the best match I played."
Murray was a set and 3-0 down to Benoit Paire on Thursday before coming back to win, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5. He’ll play Milos Raonic next.