Andy Murray says he is in good shape heading into the first Grand Slam of the season despite losing in the opening round of the Brisbane International last week.
The former world No.1 returned to the court on Wednesday to play Marin Cilic in an exhibition match at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne. He came up short against the Croat who prevailed 6-3, 7-5. Cilic is on the comeback from a knee injury and missed a large chunk of the season last year due to the issue.
“Marin played very well today in quite tricky conditions out there, quite blustery. He hit the ball extremely well today. But it’s been a good few days,” said Murray.
It is the second loss in a row Murray has suffered after being beaten by Grigor Dimitrov in Brisbane, who went on to claim the title. Despite these setbacks, the Brit is confident that he is heading in the right direction.
“It’s good to play matches at this stage of the season. Obviously, last week I played a tough one first round in Brisbane against Dmitrov. And yeah it’s good to get another match today.” Murray commented on his recent performances.
“I feel like I’ve put in a really good off-season. I think I played well last week in Brisbane and practice has been going really well. I played with a lot of top players and felt like I’ve been hitting the ball good.”
The 36-year-old will be appearing in the main draw at Melbourne Park for the 16th time in his career. He is a five-time runner-up at the Grand Slam with the last time he did so occurring in 2016. In 2023 he beat Matteo Berrettini and Thanassi Kokkinakis en route to the third round where he was beaten by Roberto Bautista Agut.
Murray, who is currently ranked 44th in the world, will be unseeded in this year’s draw. He will find out who his first round opponent will be on Thursday when the official draw ceremony takes place.
The Australian Open will get underway on Sunday.
