Andy Murray is desperate to add the Australian Open to his Grand Slam collection and will take to the court in Melbourne for the 11th consecutive year when he begins his campaign on Tuesday. Murray has finished as runner-up Down Under on four occasions, losing the 2010 final to Roger Federer before coming up short against Novak Djokovic in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The world No.2 is one of the favourites to reach the showpiece final once again and opens up against talented teenager Alexander Zverev of Germany. Murray beat Zverev 6-3, 6-4 in the Hopman Cup last week but is not looking past the 6ft 6in 18-year-old despite that success. “He's still filling out his physique but he's got a very good game and he serves well,” explained Murray. “For a big guy, he moves pretty well too. I expect him to cause me a few issues. He's improving all the time, so it will be a tough match.” Murray, who has promised to withdraw from the event if his heavily-pregnant wife Kim gives birth to their first child during the tournament, is one of six Brits in the main draw at Melbourne Park. British No.2 Aljaz Bedene faces American Steve Johnson in round one while 21-year-old Kyle Edmund is now firmly entrenched in the world’s top 100 and takes on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur, ranked just seven place above him, as he looks to reach the Australian Open second round for the first time. Dan Evans has already found success just by reaching the main draw – navigating the minefield of qualification that saw James Ward’s hopes ended – by beating Bjorn Fratangelo 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 in the final round. The reward for Evans, who was ranked as low as 772 in the world rankings as recently as last May, but is now at 185th, is a match with 18th seed Feliciano Lopez and the 25-year-old is just pleased to be on the up. “It wasn't nice to be ranked so low,” said Evans. “But it's the sport we play and I've come out the other side, and I am hopefully going up the rankings now.” In the women’s draw, Johanna Konta finished last season in tremendous form and will look to keep that going as she plays childhood hero Venus Williams in round one. British No.2 Heather Watson is currently being coached by Judy Murray – Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain and mother of Andy – after her former coach Diego Veronelli quit in December to spend more time with his family. The world No.53 squares off with Timea Babos of Hungary in the first round in Melbourne and admits Murray has been something of a superhero for stepping in and helping her at such short notice. “She's come in and saved the day pretty much and agreed to help me this Australia trip and she's just been brilliant - so positive and I've really enjoyed working with her,” said Watson. “She's just super positive and gets me in the right mindset all the time, and on the court we've been working on moving forward and going to the net a lot.”
Sportsbeat 2016