Australian Open 2024: Andy Murray plays Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Naomi Osaka makes Melbourne return
- Published
'I won't be out there giggling on the court' - Murray wants to manage important moments better in 2024
Australian Open 2024: Murray v Etcheverry |
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Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 15 January |
Coverage: Commentary from 06:00 GMT on Tennis Breakfast on Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, with live text commentary and match report on the BBC Sport website and app |
Andy Murray hopes to avoid another marathon match when he starts his latest Australian Open campaign against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Five-time finalist Murray, 36, plays 30th seed Etcheverry at about 16:30 local time in Melbourne (05:30 GMT).
The pair played for over three hours in their two meetings last year, both of which were played across three sets.
"I made most of my matches quite physical last year. I don't know if it was necessarily him," Murray joked.
Britain's Murray tended to do things the hard way in 2023, particularly in the early part of the season when his first seven wins of the year went to deciding sets.
The first of those victories came at the Australian Open, where Murray beat Italy's Matteo Berrettini in almost five hours before recovering to clinch victory over Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis in a match lasting almost six hours and finishing at 04:05 local time.
The seventh win of the run came against 24-year-old Etcheverry, with Murray coming through 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4 victory at Indian Wells after three hours and 12 minutes.
The pair met again at Basel in October, where Murray lost 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 after another three-hour tussle.
"He has a game that can make the matches that way," world number 44 Murray said.
"Again, I know that last year when I wasn't serving well, you end up getting into lots more long rallies.
"Because of the way I return, I put quite a lot of returns back in play, you can end up getting into lots of long points when that's the case and matches will go on.
"Hopefully that's not the case on Monday."
Osaka set for Grand Slam comeback
Osaka won the opening match of her comeback in Brisbane before losing to Karolina Pliskova in the next round
One of the big storylines at Melbourne Park is the return of Naomi Osaka.
The Japanese four-time major champion, 26, is playing in her second tournament since giving birth to daughter Shai last year.
Osaka, whose return at the Brisbane International came after a 16-month absence, has been handed a tough first-round draw in Melbourne against French 16th seed Caroline Garcia.
The pair meet on Rod Laver Arena around 23:00 local time (12:00 GMT).
"Whenever I play her, I always think she's an incredible player. She has every shot that a top-five player needs," said former world number one Osaka, who won the Melbourne title in 2019 and 2021.
"My immediate thought was 'OK, this is tough, but I definitely think I can achieve what I want to achieve'. Hopefully during the match I'm able to have things go my way.
"In a weird way I'm glad I'm playing a seed so that hopefully, if I get through that, the next match won't be as difficult."
Who else is playing on Monday?
Murray and Osaka are two of the biggest names in action on Monday which, unusually, is the second day of this year's Australian Open.
The opening Grand Slam tournament of the season started on Sunday for the first time, having been extended to a 15-day tournament.
US Open champion Coco Gauff opens play on Rod Laver Arena when she faces Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova at 12:00 local time (01:00 GMT).
The 19-year-old American will be followed in the day session by Greek seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who finished runner up to Novak Djokovic in last year's final, taking on Belgian lucky loser Zizou Bergs.
The night session starts at 19:00 (08:00 GMT) with Australian number one Alex de Minaur, seeded 10th, playing 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic.
Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev, a beaten men's finalist in 2021 and 2022, meets French qualifier Terence Atmane on Margaret Court Arena, followed by Tunisian sixth seed Ons Jabeur against Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva.