Murray trusts his training in Melbourne heat

Murray was on court for only 45 minutes in his opening match in Melbourne on Tuesday because his opponent Andrei Pavel retired hurt but, with the temperatures reaching the mid-to-high 30s, the world number four got to feel the worst the Melbourne weather could throw at him even in such a short space of time.

"When it's as hot as this I think you've just got to trust the work that you've put in is good enough (to allow you to cope)," he said.

"When it's this kind of temperature I think everyone's going to feel it and you just have to try and make your opponent do more running than you.

"The thing that was tough was that even when you sit down at the change of ends you're expecting to sort of go and chill out a little bit in the shade, but it's roasting even when you're just sitting there.

"If you have a long point you can feel your feet burning a little bit."

Jelena Jankovic tried to limit that discomfort by placing her feet on bags of ice during her first match against Yvonne Meusburger on Monday and most players take every opportunity to stand in any available shade in between serves and at the change of ends to get out of the harsh glare of the sun.

So far in his career Murray has been able to handle the hotter climes and use them to his advantage.

He said: "I just think when it gets hot, with my game style - because I change the pace of the ball, I'll hit some drop shots bring my opponent to the net a little bit and maybe try and frustrate them a bit - I think the hotter it is the easier it can be to restrict your opponents.

"The natural thing to do when you're a bit tired is to go for shots when you're a bit out of position to try to shorten the points. Obviously that's worked to my advantage (in the past)."