Andy Murray secured a morale-boosting first win of the season against Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic.
While only in an exhibition event, the 6-4, 6-2 victory will be very welcome for Murray, who lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the first round of the Brisbane International last week before falling to defeat against Marin Cilic at Kooyong on Wednesday.
The Scot will take on 30th-seeded Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first round of the Australian Open.
Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie sparked fears ahead of the Australian Open by pulling out of his quarter-final at the ASB Classic with a wrist injury.
The British No 1 had been due to face Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in Auckland, the city where he grew up, but withdrew just before the scheduled start.
Wrist issues can be notoriously problematic for tennis players but the word from Norrie’s camp was it was a precautionary decision prior to travelling to Melbourne, where he has been drawn to face Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas in the first round.
Norrie reached the final in Auckland 12 months ago and will drop outside the top 20 for the first time since October 2021 on Monday.
