After winning the Australian Open last year Novak Djokovic spoke lucidly about the challenge of progressing from finalist to Grand Slam champion.

The Serbian described it a huge last step and that very obstacle is one Andy Murray, last year's US Open runner-up, must now overcome if he is to become the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray: can out-tough most

Murray is favourite to win in Melbourne but I don't think anyone should underestimate how big that step up is. Yes, he's grown in belief and confidence since making the last two in New York and that experience will stand him in good stead because now he has the knowledge of how to do it and what's required to go a stage further.

If he can succeed there will not only be a huge celebration but Murray will feel a huge sense of relief that he's managed to achieve his aim. Right now, though, that will seem a long way off and I think that it is right the Scot goes into the tournament seeded fourth.

It's only fair the standings reflect the world rankings. Players work hard for 12 months of the year to get to a certain level and once there I think they deserve the benefits that brings.

If you get yourself to four in the world you deserve to get a more comfortable route through the tournament. I've always felt it is one of the reasons these guys go out and work as hard as they do and that it's unfair to take that away.

Imperfect

I see that Djokovic has called for the Australian Open to be put back to February and I agree - if you had a blank calendar and were to write out the perfect schedule then the tournament would come later on in the year to give the guys a longer off-season.

But you have to take into consideration that Formula One's Australian Grand Prix takes place in Melbourne in March and that is a huge money spinner for the area as well and they don't want the two events too close together.

The Tour want to be fair to the players to try and make sure everyone arrives in Melbourne refreshed but if there was an easy solution it would have been found by now. It's a shame because I'm sure Nikolay Davydenko would have been able to play if he had more time off.

Moving on, I don't think the draw hands any of the top four - Murray, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer - a huge advantage; here's how I think they will shape up:

Andy Murray, Britain

There's no doubt Andrei Pavel will be a tricky opening opponent but I don't think Andy, being the player he is now, is going to suffer a similar fate to last year when he lost in the first round to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Let's be realistic about this. Twelve months down the line Tsonga is coming into the tournament seeded fifth so it just goes to show what a tough task Andy had last year.

Pavel is the sort of guy who is pretty streaky and can play some flash shots but physically he is a little bit past his best. But the draw will certainly have got Andy's attention - Pavel isn't someone you look at and think that is a routine win. Andy knows that he has got to go out and play pretty well, so I don't think it is a bad draw as he will have to be focused from the off.

Jurgen Melzer is also in Andy's section of the draw: he's a very gifted player and gave Andy a run for his money at the Open and shouldn't be underestimated. He is tactically shrewd and has done pretty well against Andy in the past. A lot of the guys Andy plays against these days have got nothing to lose - he's certainly the man with the bullseye on him. Either Melzer or Kei Nishikori will give him a very good test but that's what he wants to gauge where his game is at.

That said I don't see anyone, including the seeds like Radek Stepanek and Fernando Verdasco, who should trouble him unduly. He'll be quite comfortable playing those types of guys once he gets through the early stages in the tournament.

Stepanek has had a good start to the season, he's already won the Brisbane International this year; he will come in confident and is a little bit unpredictable in the way he plays. He can throw your rhythm off a little bit. On the other hand, Verdasco had some chances against Andy in the Masters Series in Paris but Andy will always back himself to out-tough Verdasco.

Rafael Nadal

It's a little bit early to be predicting a Nadal-Murray semi-final; the Spaniard should get past Christophe Rochus but then he could have Tursunov in the third round and Dmitry can certainly crack a few winners. Gael Monfils, who beat Rafa solidly in Doha, is lurking around in the top half of the draw as well not to mention Ivo Karlovic - and nobody wants to see his name floating around even if it is in the quarters.

I think the surface will definitely help Rafa now the organisers have changed it from Rebound Ace to Plexicushion. I think he would have really struggled to win on Rebound Ace (essentially rubber on a concrete or asphalt surface) even though he is an exceptional player and can adapt to virtually anything.

Rebound Ace is a very variable surface, it reacts very differently when it's hot so isn't the same every single day. The ball bounces up very high and the movement on it is a little different because it was sticky in the heat; there were a lot of guys who twisted their ankles.

On certain days the ball could shoot through low, which I don't think Rafa particularly likes. Tsonga got to Rafa in the semis last year with his serve-volley game; he played aggressive, attacking tennis but I think Rafa will feel a touch more comfortable on this one.

Roger Federer, Switzerland

Plenty of people say Roger Federer has got a pretty tough draw but I don't think he will feel too hard done by. He's got some potentially tricky games, for example against Marat Safin in the third round but with all due respect to the Russian he hasn't been playing at his best.

Federer could also meet Carlos Moya in the second round but, again, you'd have to argue that the Spaniard's game has seen better days. Both those two players have the right mentality, as their track record proves, but I don't think Federer will look at the draw and be too disappointed.

Looking forward to the quarter-finals he would settle for playing Juan Martin Del Potro or possibly Ferrer at that stage. I don't think he would be too worried about that. The bottom half of the draw is definitely tougher than the top - it is way more competitive with the likes of David Nalbandian, Andy Roddick and Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic, Serbia

This half of the draw seems to be shaping up to another semi-final clash between Federer and Djokovic, who will be pretty happy with his section through to the fourth round. He gave Paul-Henri Mathieu - his first seeded opponent - a bit of a hammering in Sydney so he won't be too concerned.

Mardy Fish and Marcos Baghdatis are in that little section too. Baghdatis is due a bit of a revival after the injuries he had last year and he's got great memories of the Australian Open after reaching the 2006 final - he could find some inspiration.

So Djokovic has got three guys who could give him a run for his money in that fourth round but you would have to say that given his form here last year and the way that he finished last season he would be the favourite to advance. What's more, he seems to have got used to his new racket a bit more now.

David Nalbandian, Argentina

We seem to have a conversation at the start of every year about whether this will be the one when Nalbandian wins a major. One thing is for sure, though - he's somebody nobody really wants to see in their section and I don't think Andy Roddick will be too happy to see him as a potential fourth-round opponent.

But you never know: Nalbandian can either be great or lose in the first round. You can never quite be sure. If he's focused and has worked hard in the off-season then he can worry Roddick and Djokovic.

He's such a fabulous player but if you were to ask him 20 years down the line whether he had done absolutely everything he could to be the best player he can be I think he would answer in the negative.

At times he has been unbelievable and I love watching him play but he has struggled to do what the likes of Federer and Nadal have done, which is to perform consistently at that level for year on year to give himself the best chance possible at every single major.

That's what has been remarkable about Roger's career - every single major that he has gone into he has been prepared as best he can; he's given himself the best shot.

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