Murray has not played a competitive match since losing to Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July after a hip injury curtailed his 2017 season.

The Scot - a two-time champion in Brisbane - did play one set against Roberto Bautista Agut at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Friday, losing 6-2.

The forthcoming clash between the players will be the first since the first round of the 2012 Australian Open, when Murray had to come from a set down to kick-start a campaign that eventually saw him reach the semi-finals.

Home fans are in for a treat when Australian duo Nick Kyrgios and Matthew Ebden go head to head in the second round, with the latter having claimed a 6-3 6-2 win against Frances Tiafoe.

However, fellow Aussies John-Patrick Smith and Jordan Thompson were not so fortunate as they were beaten in straight sets by Mischa Zverev and Jared Donaldson respectively.