Murray missed the majority of this year with hip and ankle injuries, the Scot undergoing surgery to try and fix the former.

He was able to return to the ATP Tour in June but opted to miss the French Open and Wimbledon to build up his fitness.

The hard-court swing saw him pick up six victories but he never went past the quarter-finals of a tournament and called time on his year in September after exiting the Shenzhen Open.

Murray's aim was to be ready for 2019 but there are still doubts in his mind ahead of the first tournament of the new season.

"I still have some pain in my hip but I need to play matches to see how it feels when I am able to play three, four, five matches in a row and take it from there," Murray told reporters on arrival in Australia.

"Last year when I came here it was tough, I was struggling quite a lot. It definitely feels a bit better than it did coming here last year.

"I'm in a better place than I was a few months ago. I would just like to get through the tournaments and feel like I am able to compete and not be restricted by my hip."