Andy Murray not sulking after nightmare Brisbane International draw

Former world No 1 Andy Murray has taken a nightmare Brisbane International draw in his stride after learning he will face No 2 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round.

Murray has twice won the title in Brisbane but will be faced with perhaps the toughest first round assignment having been stuck at the bottom of the draw.

He took the draw in his stride though and said he would look forward to another great match in their rivalry.

Murray says that he knows what he needs to do to stand any chance of battling past Dimitrov and into the round of 16.

“It will be a good match.

“Grigor had a brilliant season last season. Played against him at the US Open. He won comfortably.

“(I) need to play really well, certainly much better than there, if I want to get through it.”

Murray felt that he wouldn’t be anywhere near the centre of attention this week with the likes of Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka returning to their respective tours in Brisbane

“(There are) a lot of interesting first-round matches,” Murray added.

“I think everyone is excited for Rafa (Nadal) and Naomi (Osaka) to come back and play. It’s a good start for the tournament I think.”

Murray has taken the chance to pair up with Holger Rune for the doubles competition with the young Dane enjoying a dream week after practicing with Nadal earlier.

Rune was looking forward to playing with Murray and seeing Nadal return to action and also hoped to be in contention for the ATP 250 title.

He is the top seed for the men’s singles and feels that is indicative of his rapid growth in the game.

“It’s a big privilege to be the first seed here (and) surrounded by many good players,” Rune commented.

“First of all, (it’s) great to see Rafa back. I had a practise with him the first day here. It’s cool to have him in the tournament, (and I am) playing doubles with (Andy) Murray. It’s very nice. I’m just looking forward to it. Hopefully I can start the season great, start to build on something.”

Another young player who will be a draw for many fans is American Ben Shelton who faces Roman Safiullin in a tricky opening match.

Shelton is also thrilled to be back in Australia.

“Last year was really cool for me because this was my first big stage that I got to play on, here in Australia,” Shelton said.

“We kind of joked about it with my team and my family that I was bigger in Australia than in the US at the start of my career. I really love the fans here. The atmosphere at the tournaments is really, really cool and special. I’m hoping to get some more of that this year.”

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