INDIAN WELLS, California, March 12 (Reuters) - Briton Andy Murray does not expect to be at his best when he returns from illness to play at Indian Wells this weekend.
The world number four has won two titles this year but has not played since contracting a virus in Dubai last month.
The Scot begins his campaign against Spaniard Albert Montanes on Saturday and while he has beaten world number one Rafael Nadal and number two Roger Federer this year, he was quick to play down expectations.
“I am not putting too much pressure on myself to play well this week because I took 10 full days off,” Murray told a news conference on Thursday.
“Obviously, because of that I lost a little bit of fitness and (I am) not hitting the ball as well as I was before I was sick, but hopefully if I can get through a couple of matches I can start to work myself into the tournament.”
Murray, who lost in the fourth round last year, could close the gap on world number three Novak Djokovic with a good performance at Indian Wells and the 21-year-old said experience was helping him cope with any illness or injury setbacks.
“There’s no point in me coming in here and saying I’m feeling perfect and I’ve had the best preparation possible,” said Murray, who went out in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
“Like before Australia, I felt really good going in there. In Rotterdam, I didn’t feel my best going in but I found a way to win the tournament and I played better as week went on.
“But as you get older, you start to understand that you’re not going to feel perfect every week and you try and find a way to get through the first couple of matches.” (Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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