• ATP Tour

Lack of pressure new to Murray

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Andy Murray admits he will be in uncharted waters when he competes in his first major tournament since winning the US Open in September because the pressure will be off.

Murray's victory at Flushing Meadows ended Britain's 76-year wait for a male grand slam champion - and the Scot's personal run of four defeats in major finals from four attempts.

Since making his first final in 2008 at the US Open, where he lost to Roger Federer, the 25-year-old said he felt the pressure increase steadily as he came ever closer to achieving a major win.

By beating Novak Djokovic in New York, that feeling subsided and Murray believes its absence will take some getting used to.

"In the last three, four or five years there has been significant pressure in my mind, and now I feel more relaxed and relieved after winning the US Open," Murray said on Wednesday. "So, I think from my side, I hope to take the pressure off myself and be able to play a little bit more relaxed - and I hope to repeat my grand slam win.

"I don't know how I will feel going into the first round of the Australian Open, so it will be a new feeling for me and I just have to deal with it."

The world No. 3 also gave further details on how his coach Ivan Lendl has helped him develop, saying the Czech-American's expertise in picking up on the little things has made a big difference.

Murray added: "He helped with a lot of small things; you know, technical things, small, mental and psychological things and small physical things as well as tactical things. A lot of those small things add up to 5-10% to my game, and that was what I needed to find to make it past the last hurdle and win one of the major tournaments."

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