Andy Murray heads into the Australian Open at the twilight of his career with little pressure or expectation on his shoulders as an unseeded player.
But the evergreen competitive spirit running through his veins that has seen him endear himself to the British public over the years will of course be on show when he kicks off his campaign Down Under once again.
The 35-year-old, who crashed out in the second round against Taro Daniel last year, has an even trickier task in the opener this time around: last year’s semi-finalist and the 2021 runner-up at Wimbledon, Matteo Berrettini.
“Obviously, a tough draw,” Murray said. “But I also feel like I’m in a much better place than where I was during any of the slams last year coming into it. I feel well prepared, I feel ready to play a top player early in the event, whereas maybe last year at times my game didn’t feel that great.”
Australian Open matches usually involve a late night or an early start for British fans in the UK wanting to follow their stars and The Sporting News is on hand to bring you all you need to know to follow Murray vs Berrettini in the first round.
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Is Andy Murray playing today?
The Australian Open got underway on January 16 with British No.1s Emma Raducanu and Cameron Norrie both coming through their opening matches in straight sets.
Murray has been scheduled to play on day two of the two-week tournament meaning his first match takes place on Tuesday, January 17.
.@MattBerrettini and @andy_murray served up a four-set thriller in the 2022 US Open.
Now they’ll meet in the @AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/wM5s2yKaKM
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) January 12, 2023
What time is Andy Murray vs Matteo Berretini at the Australian Open?
Due to the time difference, Melbourne being 11 hours ahead of the UK, tennis fans back here will need to set their alarms for Murray’s opener.
Berrettini and Murray will be the third match on Rod Laver Arena and is the last of the morning session. As a result, the pair are expected to take to the court around 2.30 a.m. GMT in the early hours of Tuesday, January 17. It could of course be later than that depending on how quickly the earlier matches are concluded.
How to watch the Australian Open in the UK on TV
Coverage of the Australian Open 2023 will be broadcast in the UK live and exclusively on Eurosport.
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Eurosport 1 and 2 will provide daily coverage of the action in Melbourne.
How to live stream the Australian Open in the UK
UK fans will be able to stream the 2023 Australian Open live on the discovery+ app, the Eurosport app, or through eurosport.co.uk.
You can also add the discovery+ app to an existing Amazon Prime Video subscription as an add-on.