Andy Murray does not expect to be at his best when he returns from illness to play at Indian Wells. The world No 4 has won two titles this year, but has not played since contracting a virus in Dubai last month. The Scot begins his campaign against the Spaniard Albert Montanes today, and he was quick to play down expectations. "I am not putting too much pressure on myself to play well this week because I took 10 full days off," he said. "Obviously, because of that I lost a little bit of fitness and I am not hitting the ball as well as I was before I was sick, but hopefully if I can get through a couple of matches I can start to work myself into the tournament."
Murray, 21, can close the gap on world No 3 Novak Djokovic with a good showing at Indian Wells, but added: "There's no point in me coming in here and saying I'm feeling perfect and I've had the best preparation possible." * Reuters
