Andy Murray hopes change in schedule to include Abu Dhabi and Doha will boost Australian Open chances

ABU DHABI // A losing finalist at five of the past seven Australian Open finals, Andy Murray has made the year’s opening grand slam his top priority as he starts his first season ranked No 1 in the world. Murray, 29, reached his first Australian Open final in 2010, losing to Roger Federer in straight sets. Since then, he has made it to the final every year, save 2012 and 2014, but has been denied by Novak Djokovic. The Serbian also stopped him in the 2012 semi-finals, while in 2014, he lost in the quarter-finals to Federer. Read more: ■ Rafael Nadal: Confident, injury-free and 'motivated' to compete for three more years ■ Info guide: Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2016 — Line-up, schedule, tickets and general info ■ Tomas Berdych Q&A: Health problems in the past, 2017 can be 'a successful year' starting in Abu Dhabi ■ Video: 'I have your shirt, I have your racket': Omar Abdulrahman challenges Rafael Nadal at MWTC 2016 “I have played really well there in the past and it hasn’t happened for me,” Murray said. “It’s a tournament where I have played some of my best tennis and come close a number of times, and never quite managed to win it. “So I need to do something a little bit different this year, but I love the conditions there and I enjoy the tournament a lot. “This year, I will be going in, hopefully, playing well, with a lot of confidence because of the way I finished 2016. The Australian Open is a tournament that I would love to win, so I will give it a good go this year, but there are no guarantees it will happen for me.” To achieve his Australian Open dream, Murray has also made a few changes to his schedule. Last year, he had flown straight from his training base to Melbourne for the Australian Open. This year, he has decided on starting his season in Abu Dhabi with the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, where he meets the winner of the Jo-Wilfried Tsonga-David Goffin in Friday’s first semi-final. Murray will also be in action at the Qatar Open next week, a tournament which also features Djokovic. This is the first time in three years Murray will be playing a Tour event before the Australian Open. “To be honest, this year I just fancy doing something different,” Murray said. “It hasn’t worked for me at the Aussie Open in the last few years. Probably nothing to do with my preparations, but it [going to Doha] splits the journey a little bit as well. “So, to split that trip up from doing one long trip to Australia might help. But I have enjoyed playing in Abu Dhabi and Doha in the past. I have had some success in Doha, so hopefully it will work well for me. “Seems to have worked well for Novak as well over the years; hopefully it works for me too.” arizvi@thenational.ae Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport

Andy Murray hopes change in schedule to include Abu Dhabi and Doha will boost Australian Open chances

World No 1 Andy Murray continues his preparations for the 2017 season at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.