• US Open champion taken to three sets by world No199
• Watson a doubt for Australian Open with elbow problem
Andy Murray narrowly avoided the wrath of his coach, Ivan Lendl, after labouring to a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 win over the Australian qualifier John Millman in his opening match at the Brisbane International.
The US Open champion ran hot but mostly cold against the world No199 in a match of wildly fluctuating tennis that lasted two hours and four minutes at the Pat Rafter Arena.
Murray revealed that the former world No1 Lendl, who was due to arrive in Brisbane on Friday, had not even considered the possibility of the Scot losing to Millman. Before the second-round match, Lendl had sent a text message to the 25-year-old's hitting partner Danny Vallverdu asking what time Murray's quarter-final against Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin would be on Friday.