Andy Murray believes the intense heat in Melbourne will not bother him in his bid for a first Grand Slam title.
World number four has the game to cope with soaring temperatures
Andy Murray believes he has the perfect game to deal with the high temperatures that are expected to last throughout the Australian Open.
The British number one only had to play 45 minutes in his opening round clash as Romanian opponent Andrei Pavel retired hurt, but that was long enough to feel the intense heat of the Australian summer.
"The thing that was tough was that even when you sit down at the change of ends you're expecting to sort of go and chill out a little bit in the shade, but it's roasting even when you're just sitting there," Murray said.
"When it's this kind of temperature I think everyone's going to feel it and you just have to try and make your opponent do more running than you."
Restrict
Murray has used hot weather to his advantage before, winning his first Masters Series title in soaring heat at Cincinnati.
"I just think when it gets hot, with my game style - because I change the pace of the ball, I'll hit some drop shots bring my opponent to the net a little bit and maybe try and frustrate them a bit," he added.
"I think the hotter it is the easier it can be to restrict your opponents. The natural thing to do when you're a bit tired is to go for shots when you're a bit out of position to try to shorten the points.
"Obviously that's worked to my advantage (in the past)."
Ranking
Murray went into the Australian Open in a rich vein of form having already defeated Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick already this year.
However, the Scot believes taking the number one ranking from Nadal is not his first priority.
"I'd obviously love to be number one," Murray admitted. "I'm sure all players would at some point in their career. But I'd want to try and win a slam first. I think that's the next step for me.
"If I play well the first six months of this year, I don't have a whole lot of points to defend, so there's a chance that I'd do it."
Murray continues his quest for a first Grand Slam title against Marcel Granollers on Thursday. Join
skysports.com for live updates on his progress.
