Murray will once again be stepping into unknown territory but the fifth seed is unlikely to be too concerned. He admitted knowing little about his opening opponent Karol Beck but was winning comfortably when the Slovak had to retire with a back injury.
"I don't really know him that well. I saw him play a little bit when Ukraine played Great Britain in Davis Cup," Murray said, looking ahead to the Marchenko match. "He has improved a lot since then but I don't know his game that well."
The 23 year old Ukrainian has established himself on the ATP Tour in the past couple of years and is currently ranked 79. He's extremely fast and is rock solid from the back of the court but it's hard to see him having the weapons to hurt Murray over five sets.
The match is last on Margaret Court Arena, a court schedule which will disappoint Murray who was hoping to be back on Hisense Arena. “It's one of the nicest courts to play on,” he told the press hopefully after beating Beck. When you hit the ball, the echo, the noise it makes, you always feel like you are hitting the ball well. I practised on it a couple of times before the start of the tournament.”
Prediction: Murray in three