Murray triumphs in Melbourne

Andy Murray won his first match at the AAMI Kooyong Classic tournament, recording a 6-4 6-2 victory over Ivan Ljubicic in Melbourne.

The result is swift revenge for the 19-year-old Scot, who was beaten by the Croatian - ranked second here - in the final of the Qatar Open in Doha last week.

The eight-man field, which includes former winners Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, each play three matches before a final on Saturday.

Murray, who is still suffering from a cough, insists he will be fit to challenge for honours at next week's Australian Open and believes the eight-man Kooyong competition is good preparation for the forthcoming major.

He said: "I feel good. I'm still coughing a little bit but I feel much better than I did last week.

"I think after a few more days practice and some matches in this heat, I'm going to be playing well going into the Australian Open.

"I think the intensity [at Kooyong] is a little bit different than maybe a normal practice session.

"You've obviously got people there so I feel like you have to perform. It's not fair if people are going to come out and watch you, and you just go and put in a 50% effort."

Murray also believes that victory over Ljubicic could be prove a timely confidence boost.

He said: "If you're playing against guys like a Ljubicic - if I was to go and play him in the Australian Open in the third round or fourth round or whatever, you don't necessarily want to lose to them 6-1, 6-1 or 6-1, 6-2 [in a warm-up tournament] because mentally that gives them a bit of an edge."