Five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray will endeavour to roll back the years when he kicks off his bid for Grand Slam stardom against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Monday's first-round showdown.
Fans will flock to the Show Court Arena to witness the former world number one in action, while his South American foe will bid to deny him a second-round match with Gael Monfils or Yannick Hanfmann.
Match preview
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Dazzling the crowds Down Under once again in 2023 with a couple of astonishing fightbacks, Murray's last Australian Open run saw the seasoned Briton sink 13th seed Matteo Berrettini and home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis before Roberto Bautista Agut proved too strong.
Since last waving goodbye to the Melbourne crowds, Murray's latest bid to rediscover his glory days has not been entirely fruitful, although he reached one ATP Tour final in the 2023 season, suffering defeat to Daniil Medevedev in the Qatar Open championship match not long after bowing out of the first Grand Slam of the year.
The 36-year-old's Wimbledon and US Open campaigns also came to a premature end in the second round after he withdrew from the French Open to focus on the grass-court season, but a trio of Challenger titles came Murray's way at Aix-en-Provence, Surbiton and Nottingham, his first such honours since 2005.
Six defeats from nine on the ATP Tour hardly represented a glittering end to 2023, though, and Murray's opening match of 2024 ended in a first-round Brisbane loss to Grigor Dimitrov, although he powered his way to a first-set success before falling to the Bulgarian's superiority.
Nevertheless, the current world number 44 cut a relaxed figure in his pre-tournament press conference, talking up his psychological improvements as he prepares for a third top-level showdown with Etcheverry, still a relative newcomer on the ATP Tour scene.
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Twelve years Murray's junior, Etcheverry was only 10 when his first-round opponent lost the 2010 Australian Open final to Roger Federer, and the South American's Monday match will mark his ninth successive main-draw appearance at a major tournament since debuting Down Under in 2022.
That year, the 24-year-old came through qualifying before suffering defeat to Pablo Carreno Busta, but he came from a set down to sink Gregoire Barrere in the first round of last year's edition, only to be swiftly brushed aside by Jannik Sinner in round two.
The 2023 season was a momentous one for Etcheverry nonetheless, as the world number 30 reached the quarter-finals of the French Open and competed in the finals of the Chile Open and US Men's Clay Court Championships, only to be denied his maiden top-level title by Nicolas Jarry and Frances Tiafoe respectively.
Similar to Murray, Etcheverry also began his year with a first-round Brisbane defeat - losing to Tomas Machac in three sets - but should the Argentine get the better of the three-time major winner for a second time here, a third-round showdown with reigning champion Novak Djokovic could potentially materialise.
Head To Head
Swiss Indoors (2023) - Second round: Etcheverry wins 6-7[5] 6-3 6-2
Indian Wells Masters (2023) - First round: Murray wins 6-7[5] 6-1 6-4
Nothing can separate Murray and Etcheverry on the head-to-head column approaching Monday's tie, as from their first two meetings on the ATP circuit last year, both men prevailed over the other on one occasion.
Their maiden contest in the first round of the Indian Wells Masters saw Murray come from a set down to get the job done, despite failing to take 16 of the astonishing 20 break points he fashioned on the day, before Etcheverry gleaned revenge in strikingly similar fashion.
During their reunion in the second round of the Swiss Indoors, it was Murray who prevailed in the first-set tie-breaker before Etcheverry turned the tie on its head thanks to an uninspiring serving performance from the Briton; he double-faulted four times and won just 47% of points on his second serve.
We say: Etcheverry to win in five sets
The intimidating 6ft 5in Argentine undoubtedly possesses the necessary serving power and forehand speed to give Murray an extremely good run for his money, although overcoming adversity on the Melbourne courts is one of the Briton's specialities.
Another Grand Slam five-setter could be on the cards for Murray, but as the Briton's 36-year-old legs begin to tire, his youthful foe can capitalise to progress to the second round and consign the five-time finalist to a premature exit.
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Ben Knapton
