It's a fine line Andy Murray is walking at the Paris Masters this week as he gears up for Britain's Davis Cup final against Belgium in three weeks' time.
Firstly he seeks the kind of competitive tennis that will hone his skills for the match in Ghent, but also he does not want to drain his batteries or tweak his dodgy back.
There was no danger of the latter in the Scot's first two matches in Paris as he lost just a total of four games in swatting aside young Croatian Borna Coric and David Goffin, the Belgian number one who will be the main obstacle in his path in the Davis Cup final.
But against Frenchman Richard Gasquet in Friday's quarter-finals it was a different story as Murray went the distance, two hours and 38 minutes, before sealing a 7-6 (9/7), 3-6, 6-3 win.
Both players looked tired by the end of a gruelling encounter, although Murray said that he would take away mainly positives from it.
“I think obviously you don't want to play loads of those matches over the next few weeks, but obviously played two extremely quick matches the first two rounds,” he said.
“So to get a long one, for me, and I think in that atmosphere as well, with the Davis Cup coming up is a very positive thing for me, you know, to go through that physically and emotionally.”
“It's maybe not going to be the same as Davis Cup, but it's pretty good practice for that. I'm happy I went through a match like that today, physically and mentally. It's a good one to go through.”
The likely scenario for the final in Ghent is very much one of Murray carrying the full weight of British hopes against the Belgians who have Goffin and Steve Darcis in the singles.
He already has an 8-0 record in Davis Cup action this year against the United States, France and Australia and he will be expected to win three times in Ghent.
So full fitness is essential for British hopes of a first Davis Cup win since 1936, hence the concern in the second set when Murray grimaced in pain after stretching to hit a return.
The Scot confirmed that it was the back problem again, but he said not to read too much into it.
“My back is a little bit stiff,” said Murray who faces David Ferrer of Spain in Sunday's Paris final.
“I think it wasn't affecting my movement around the court. Just a little bit on my serve.
“I was going for big serves in the second set and wasn't really pushing off as well as I would have like, so missing them.
“Then in the third set, I decided to slow the serve down and make more first serves. That worked really well.” – AFP