Andy Murray has confirmed his participation in the Hopman Cup in Perth alongside fellow British No1 Heather Watson, shedding doubt on a possible participation at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC).
The Hopman Cup kicks off on January 4 in Australia, while the MWTC will take place in Abu Dhabi from January 1 to 3.The Scot has never attended both exhibition events in the same year.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are so far the only two players confirmed for the Abu Dhabi lineup with the remaining four expected to be announced in coming weeks.
Murray, who won the inaugural title of the MWTC, skipped the subsequent three editions before making a return to the UAE capital in 2012. He has made the trip down to Abu Dhabi for the past two years but his Hopman Cup announcement suggests it is unlikely he will choose the MWTC as his pre-season warm-up event.
Murray teamed up with Laura Robson at the mixed team tournament in Perth in 2010 and 2011, with the pair reaching the final on their first appearance.
The national teams face each other in a round-robin format, with each match comprising a men’s singles, a women’s singles and a mixed doubles. Both times Murray previously played at the Hopman Cup he went on to reach the final of the Australian Open, losing to Roger Federer in 2010 and Novak Djokovic the following year.
The former Wimbledon champion said: “I find it very good preparation for the Australian Open. The organisers look after everyone extremely well there.
“You get at least three singles matches, you get the mixed doubles as well, which is good fun, it sharpens up the net game. Now that it’s outdoors too, it’s absolutely perfect, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Watson, who has just climbed back into the top 50, will be making her debut at the Hopman Cup.
She said: “This will be the first time Andy and I will have played mixed doubles so I hope we can do our best to win the Hopman Cup.”
The Australian team has also been announced, with Wimbledon star Nick Kyrgios joining Perth native Casey Dellacqua.