Murray admits would be 'unrealistic' to win Australian Open with 'just gym work'

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has admitted that it would be 'unrealistic' of him to expect to win the Australian Open later this month as he attempts to recover his sharpness for Melbourne following his recent back surgery.

More than three months after undergoing surgery in the hope of curing a long-standing back problem, the Scot will go into his first major test of the year having played only two competitive singles matches since his comeback, although his defeat to Florian Mayer in the second round of the Qatar Open was a setback in his preparations for Melbourne.

According to The Independent, the confidence Murray can derive from his past form at Melbourne Park means that he is not ruling out another productive fortnight in Australia, although the British No.1 said that he is not expecting to win the first Grand Slam of the year as gym work is no substitute for getting matches under his belt.

Stating that he would need to gauge his fitness in the next few days, Murray further said that although he had trained hard physically, his Qatar Open defeat was a perfect example of losing matches due to lack of playing despite complete fitness, although he added that he might feel better if he can get through a couple of rounds in the tournament.

Murray, who will link up in Melbourne with his coach Ivan Lendl, is likely to play at least one match at the Kooyong exhibition event in Melbourne next week and expects to spend most of his time on the practice court playing games and sets, the report added.