Yuki up against Andy Murray in 1st round

Indian youngster Yuki Bhambri could not have asked for a tougher draw as he has been pitted against world number six and two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in his first round of the Australian Open. Yuki, the lone Indian to feature in the singles main draw, has endured a very injury-marred transition from the junior to senior level. He has good memories of the venue, having won the junior Australian Open in 2009 and making his Grand Slam debut here last year. He had reached the men’s doubles third round in 2014 with Kiwi partner Michael Venus. Since the 22-year-old has nothing to lose in the match against the British number one, he can go all out. Yuki did extremely well in the Qualifiers, beating three higher-ranked players to make it to the main draw. He has already pocketed USD 16000 and 25 ranking points for winning three rounds of qualifiers and as a first round contestant in the main round he is assured of USD 34,500 as prize money and 10 ranking points.