World number one Novak Djokovic is wary of the threat Andy Murray poses heading into the first grand slam of the year.
The Brit has just come back from a hip injury and will be playing just his second grand slam event in Melbourne next month since Wimbledon 2017.
After surgery Murray’s ranking has plummeted to 256 in the world with the former Wimbledon champion using his protected ranking to enter the Australian Open and Brisbane next week.
Despite the Brit’s injury concerns, Novak Djokovic is still wary of the threat that Murray can pose heading into the Australian Open in a couple of weeks time.
“He’s always going to be the No. 1 because he was No. 1 in the world and a multiple Grand Slam winner so he has the No. 1 in the world and champions’ mentality,” said Djokovic, when speaking to Bein Sports.
“I’ve known him since we were 11 or 12 years old and I have tonnes of respect for him, for his game and his dedication and devotion to training methods and ethics. I always see him as a top player regardless of his ranking.”
The reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion will begin his season in Doha where he will play singles and also doubles with his brother, Marko.
In the singles Djokovic will take on Damir Dzumhur in the opening round with a potential final against Dominic Thiem awaiting him.
While Andy Murray will play his first tournament since the Shenzhen Open in September when he faces James Duckworth in Brisbane, in a US Open rematch.
Should the Brit make the second round he would face 4th seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev as Rafael Nadal, Kyle Edmund and Grigor Dimitrov are also competing in Australia this week.
