Andy Murray, Australian Open, first round, Ilya Marchenko, Melbourne
Reuters

Tennis World No 1 in men's singles Andy Murray is looking forward to winning his first ATP World Tour crown of the calendar year 2017 and what better to start off his campaign with a win in Dubai. The Australian Open 2017 didn't really turn out to be in his favour, but nevertheless hopes are not lost.

It's been almost an irony. While Murray suffered a shock exit at the hands of Mischa Zverev at the Rod Laver Arena in January and Federer went on to win the Australian Open championship, the Swiss legend, on Wednesday, suffered a shock exit from the ATP Dubai event at the hands of fellow qualifier Evgeny Donskoy.

With the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal taking part in the ATP Acapulco 2017 in Mexico, Murray and Gael Monfils remain the only two big names at the ATP World Tour Dubai.

Nevertheless, Murray cannot underestimate the challenge he will receive from his old foe Philipp Kohlschreiber on Thursday in the quarter-final of the Dubai event.

The German is ranked 29 in the world -- stark contrast to Murray's No 1 ranking. Murray and Kohlschreiber have faced only five times since 2010 and the Briton is already 4-1 up in the head to head record.

Match schedule

Date: March 2

Time: Around 8:30 pm IST (3 pm GMT)

Venue: Aviation Club Tennis Centre, Dubai

Where to watch live

India: TV - Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD. Live streaming - SonyLiv.

UK: TV - BT Sport. Live streaming - BT Sport Live.

Other Live streaming option: Tennis Channel.

Live scores: ATP website.