• Australian Open

Murray ready to silence Melbourne crowd

Andy Murray is seeded sixth at the Australian Open © Getty Images

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Andy Murray insists he can handle the pressure of a partisan crowd when he takes on local boy Marinko Matosevic in the Australian Open second round on Wednesday.

Murray faces the world No.81 after overcoming qualifier Yuki Bhambri in a tricky opener and admitted his serve would have to be at its best to see off the lofty Australian.

"To be honest, it doesn't change how you approach the match," Murray said when asked what level of support he could expect. "I'm sure it will be a good atmosphere.

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"I know Marinko very well, I get on well with him. He's a good ball striker, a big guy who serves well. He works extremely hard and has a good work ethic.

"I need to continue serving well. That helps against whoever you're playing. When you play against a big guy who likes to go for his shots, if you can keep good weight and depth behind your shots, that can frustrate them.

"I'll try and use some variety to throw his timing off a little bit. I've been playing very well in the practices and striking the ball cleanly in the matches. If I keep that up, I'll keep getting better each round."

Murray served 13 aces as he defeated world No.317 Bhambri in straight sets on Monday, with the crowd on the newly-revamped Margaret Court Arena enjoying an unexpectedly close encounter under the afternoon sun.

However, with the temperature set to hit a relatively modest 27C on Wednesday, the British No.1 shrugged off suggestions he would prefer an evening match on his next outing in Melbourne.

"I don't really mind," Murray said. "The conditions today were perfect playing conditions. Obviously in the evening that slows things down a little bit. When it's cooler, maybe it doesn't take as much away from you energy-wise.

"But obviously you can finish the matches quite late, and that can affect you the next round. But I don't really mind when I play."

Sixth-seed Murray also sought to play down what he earlier admitted was a "very difficult" draw at the first grand slam of the year, with Grigor Dimitrov, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all lying in wait as he bids to make his fourth final in Melbourne.

"I didn't plan on looking through the draw," he said. "But when I came to my press conference, someone basically read out the whole draw all the way through to the final. So whether you look at it or not, people talk about it.

"I think that the year I won Wimbledon everyone was saying it was the hardest draw, and then a couple of guys get knocked out and I was getting, 'If you don't make the final this year you'll never make the final again'.

"A lot can change in a couple of days in sport. You have just got to concentrate on your own matches, take care of business, and that's it."

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