Murray to face Safin at Kooyong Classic
Andy Murray has been drawn to face former world number one Marat Safin in the opening round-robin tie of the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne.
After beating rising Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka in three sets to win his fourth career title at the season-opening Qatar Open last week, Murray comes into the invitation-only tournament in top form.
He will use this week’s event – which features five of the world’s top 10 players – to complete his preparations for the Australian Open.
Also in the top-class field are Russian Nikolay Davydenko, American Andy Roddick, Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, Argentinian David Nalbandian and Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.
World number one Roger Federer was forced to withdraw from the tournament with a stomach virus, while German Tommy Haas also pulled out after failing to recover in time from shoulder surgery.
Murray said a tough fitness regime over the off-season that included classes of Bikram yoga (performed in a room of 41 degrees celsius) would hold him in good stead for the Australian summer.
“This year I had pretty much five weeks of training, so I feel physically much stronger,” he said.
“Tennis-wise it doesn’t feel a whole lot different but I think being physically stronger helps you mentally as well.”
Now ranked ninth in the world, Murray will be aiming to better his fourth-round effort at last year’s Australian Open when he lost a marathon five-set thriller to Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
