Tennis: Murray insists his back is on track

Andy Murray says his back stiffened up a little but is 'way better'. Photo / Getty Images

Andy Murray wrapped up his public preparations for the Australian Open by losing an exhibition match to Lleyton Hewitt in Melbourne on Friday - but is in a good frame of mind.

The back surgery he underwent in September has freed him from the pain which had troubled him for more than 18 months and, even if he is short of match practice, Murray is confident that he can quickly rediscover his form.

"My back feels way, way better than it did before the surgery," the Scot said. "That is what is very pleasing for me just now. The rest of the body hurts a little bit because I haven't played.

"It is a little bit frustrating because the back feels better but, when you haven't played matches for four months, a couple of other things hurt and other things stiffen up. However, my back so far has felt very good. It feels much better than it did in Doha. I stiffened up a bit after the first couple of sets there - it was cold - but the last few days in practice, my back has felt much better than it did even a couple of weeks ago.

"In practice I've played well this week. I've played some good sets against [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga, Hewitt, [Tomas] Berdych and [Nikolay] Davydenko.

"I'm playing Juan Monaco today and Kei Nishikori on Sunday. I'm playing with good players and I am absolutely fine in practice.

"I've held my own and I've played well. I'm not as far away as I maybe thought I was a couple of weeks ago."

Friday's draw was kind to Murray. In the first round, he faces 29-year-old Go Soeda of Japan, the world No112. The winner faces a qualifier in the second round, while Feliciano Lopez and John Isner are seeded to meet Murray in the third and fourth rounds. Thereafter he could play Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, Rafael Nadal in the semis and Novak Djokovic in the final.

"After a relatively cool week, the temperature here moved into the 30s yesterday and is set to climb 10 degrees next week. It will be hot when I play on Tuesday and I need to get in the hours in those conditions," Murray said.

"Playing matches in these conditions is tough. Just being back and playing in front of a lot of people when you haven't done it for three months is different to playing on a court when there's no one there."

Djokovic looks to have been given the easiest draw and Federer the toughest. Radek Stepanek, Fernando Verdasco and Tsonga are all possible opponents for the Swiss before the quarter-finals. Nadal has the most challenging first round draw, against the 21-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic.

- The Independent