Murray wary of Zverev in Australia
| Australian Open |
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| Dates: 18-31 January Venue: Melbourne Park Coverage: Live radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, from 07:00 GMT daily & online |
Andy Murray expects German teenager Alexander Zverev to cause him “a few issues” in the Australian Open first round on Tuesday.
Murray, who beat Zverev 6-3 6-4 in the Hopman Cup last week, believes the 18-year-old is an ever-improving player.
Zverev, who is 6ft 6in, beat Murray’s Wimbledon conqueror, world number 12 Kevin Anderson, in last year’s event.
“He’s still filling out his physique but he’s got a very good game and he serves well,” said Murray.
“For a big guy, he moves pretty well too. He’s obviously improving all the time, so it will be a tough match.”
Who are the other Britons competing in Melbourne?
Murray, 28, who will withdraw from the Australian Open if his wife Kim gives birth to their first child during the tournament, will be joined in the first round by fellow Britons Dan Evans, Kyle Edmond and Aljaz Bedene.
Evans, who was 772 in the world rankings as recently as May, beat Bjorn Fratangelo 7-5 4-6 6-0 in the final round of qualifying.
“It wasn’t nice [to be ranked so low] but it’s the sport we play and obviously I’ve come out the other side, and I am hopefully going up the rankings now,” said the 25-year-old from Birmingham.
British number one Johanna Konta, who faces childhood heroine Venus Williams in the first round of the women’s singles, says she will not allow sentiment to affect her performance against the seven-time Grand Slam winner.
Konta, 24, played 34-year-old Williams for the first time at Wuhan in October, and exchanged hugs in the locker room with the American after her 6-4 3-6 7-5 quarter-final defeat.
“The experience will be different,” world number 47 Konta said.
“It was the first time I played her and she was one of the players I grew up watching when I was younger, so it was definitely a different experience to where I’m at now.”
Konta will be joined in the main draw by British number two Heather Watson, who plays Hungary’s Timea Babos in the first round on Monday.
Watson, 23, will be coached on a short-tem basis in Melbourne by Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain Judy Murray, replacing Argentine Diego Veronelli, who quit in December to spend more time with his family.
“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,” Watson said.
“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.”
The men’s singles contenders
Roger Federer says Novak Djokovic is in a class of his own ahead of the rest of the “big five” of men’s tennis.
Djokovic, Federer, Murray, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka have dominated the major tournaments, with only one of the last 24 Grand Slam champions coming from outside the group.
However, 17-time Grand Slam winner Federer, 34, says world number one Djokovic deserves “a little star”, following a run of 16 consecutive tournament finals and three major titles last year.
Djokovic, 28, won 27 of his 28 matches in Grand Slam tournaments in 2015, with his only defeat coming to Wawrinka at the French Open.
“I still think the same guys are playing very well but, of course, Novak deserves like a little star next to his name right now because he’s been doing extremely well,” the Swiss said.
Djokovic, who is in the same half of the draw as Federer, will open the defence of his title against Chung Hyeon of South Korea on Monday.
Federer, who is seeded third, also plays on Monday, against Georgian world number 117 Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The women’s singles contenders
Serena Williams says she has fully recovered from a knee injury for the defence of her title at Melbourne Park.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion pulled out of the Hopman Cup last week with the injury and was photographed receiving treatment on the knee after struggling during a practice session on Saturday.
“It’s actually really fine – I don’t have any inflammation anymore,” the American said.
“It’s just that I needed some time to get over that little hump.”
Williams will face Italy’s Camila Giorgi, the highest-ranked non-seed in the tournament, in the first round on Monday as she looks to equal Steffi Graf’s Grand Slam record of 22 singles titles.
Fifth seed Maria Sharapova has her own fitness problems after withdrawing from the Brisbane International last week with an arm injury.
“I might be rusty, make a few more unforced errors than I would like, but I’m ready to go,” Sharapova said.
The 2008 champion begins her Australian Open campaign on Monday against Japan’s Nao Hibino, ranked 58th in the world.