Andy Murray says that there will be no quarter given if he is to meet brother Jamie when he makes his much-anticipated return to the court in the doubles at Queen’s next Monday.
The three-time Grand Slam winner and double Olympic champion last played competitively in his first-round Australian Open singles defeat to Roberto Bautista Agut.
But it was announced earlier this month that the 32-year-old – who has won the singles title at Queen’s a record five times – will play alongside Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in his brother’s specialist discipline: the men’s doubles.
And while the pair have shown themselves to be canny operators when on the same side of the net – most notably throughout GB’s 2015 run to Davis Cup glory – Murray is preparing himself to go toe-to-toe this time around.
"If I play Jamie here then I'd definitely be trying to win of course,” he said.
“It's bound to end up happening I'd imagine. I wouldn't be surprised if that was how the draw came out.”
With Murray continuing his rehabilitation after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in January, he is targeting a doubles appearance at Wimbledon later this summer, a place where he famously won a pair of titles and singles gold at London 2012.
And refusing to rule out a return to the singles circuit himself, Murray has been taking things slowly as he looks to get back out there on his own before the year is out.
"It's baby steps just now," he continued.
"I have done some singles training drills with my coach.
"Earlier on I was hitting with singles players, but I was more stationary. I was moving them rather than them moving me about.
"So I have not played proper singles. I am hoping that will come more after Wimbledon."
Looking, first and foremost, to regain his passion for the sport when it comes to singles training, enjoyment is the first port of call at the moment for Murray.
Hoping to take things as they come, rather than targeting a return ahead of the US Open in August – the site of his first Grand Slam victory back in 2012 – the Scotsman is making no guarantees, resolving that a comeback will happen only in his time.
"I'm feeling good, pretty much pain free and enjoying just training, practising, improving all the time just now,” he added.
"I don't think when Wimbledon finishes that I will just step on to the singles court the following week and everything's good.
"At this moment I've been progressing all of the time. At some stage it's probably going to plateau for a while before I'm able to kick on.
"I hope at some stage this year I would be able to get back to playing singles again. I'm not really interested in putting a time limit on it because I'm quite happy just now.
"So I don't need to play singles after Wimbledon or at the US Open to, you know, enjoy doing what I'm doing just now.
"If I can, that would be brilliant, but I don't think that's going to be the case. I think it's going to take a bit longer."
Sportsbeat 2019