Andy Murray has admitted that he doubted whether he was ready to win the Australian Open before the tournament began.


19466 - Andy Murray admits Australian Open doubts

The Scot's mental resilience came into question on several occasions during 2010 when he succumbed to a number of shock defeats to less illustrious opponents, most notably against Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round of the US Open.

Now he has hinted that the problems are not behind him by revealing that he felt nervous before his first-round match, which he led 6-3 6-1 4-2 before opponent Karol Beck retired through injury.

"Like I said before the tournament, everyone always has slight doubts before the start, you are always a bit nervous," he said.

Before his opening match, Murray admitted he knew very little of Beck's game - and he is also in the dark about second-round opponent Ilya Marchenko.

"I don't really know him that well. I saw him play a little bit when Ukraine played Great Britain in Davis Cup," he added. "That was obviously quite a while ago and he has improved a lot since then. I don't know his game that well."