Federer lurking for Murray after Scot draws qualifier in first round

Britain's Andy Murray will face a qualifier in the first round of the Australian Open, which gets underway in Melbourne on Monday.

Murray is seeded sixth for the competition and faces a potential repeat of last season’s quarter-final against Roger Federer after featuring in the same quarter of the draw as the Swiss, while Rafael Nadal is a possible semi-final rival.

Murray is bidding to produce a positive performance at the year’s first grand slam, a tournament he has never won but has reached the final on three occasions.

British No1 Heather Watson has been drawn against Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova in round one of the women’s draw, while last year’s runner-up Dominika Cibulkova is a potential opponent in round two.

Murray, meanwhile, has followed the lead of Federer by launching his own logo in time for next week.

The 27-year-old’s new identity uses his initials as well as incorporating the number 77, which symbolises the years since a British man had won Wimbledon when he achieved the landmark on the seventh day of the seventh month in 2013.

“We wanted to create a modern mark that captures Andy’s energy and spirit,” said Dan Calderwood, design director of branding company Aesop who produced the logo.