• Australian Open

Murray eases hamstring fears

Andy Murray appeared to clutch his left hamstring during the match © PA Photos

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Andy Murray moved to ease fears that he is carrying an injury following his opening round victory at the Australian Open.

The world No. 4 started slowly against American teenager Ryan Harrison, but soon slipped through the gears to book his place in the second round with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 win.

Having never played Harrison before, Murray admitted it took a while to figure out his opponent and adjust to the court on the Hisense Arena. But despite appearing to clutch his hamstring, Murray insists he will be fine for his second round clash against Edouard Roger-Vasselin on Thursday.

When pressed on the state of his leg during his post-match press conference, Murray confirmed there was no cause for concern, simply replying: "It's fine". The Scot also revealed he had received a nod of approval from new coach Ivan Lendl, who was courtside to watch his new charge kick off his campaign with a victory.

Murray confessed he took a cautious approach in the opening set as he tried to suss out his opponent, and having been without a full-time coach since July 2010, Murray admitted it was a boost to have Lendl's support courtside.

And despite dropping the opening set, Murray insisted there was never really any cause for concern.

"He understands how you might be feeling at the start of a grand slam, what it's like to play against someone that you haven't played against, what it's like playing in different conditions, how you feel in really warm conditions," Murray said of his new coach.

"It's just good to have someone there that, you know, understands all of those things. Someone maybe without the experience might walk in and be like, What the hell were you doing in the first set? What were you playing the first six or seven games?

"You know, he understands the feelings that you go through. Once I started moving better, I played better. Last few sets were good."

Murray, who spent the off-season training at his base in Florida, admitted the hard work in training had paid off as he survived the blistering heat.

"Obviously training in hot temperatures helps because you're used to it, but also for the last couple of weeks it's been very different," Murray said. "You know, today was a bit of a shock to the system. It was good to get used to playing in that heat again because might have to a bit further down the line."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.