The Australian Marinko Matosevic agreed with Andy Murray that winning his first match in a Grand Slam last year has relaxed him. He had suffered 13 defeats in first round attempts until 2014 Roland Garros, when he beat Dustin Brown. He lost to Andy Murray in the second round.

"Yeah, for sure it was a huge gorilla off my back," Matosevic said. "Yeah, happy to get some good results after that quickly. And, yes, spot on."

Matosevic bested Alexander Kudryavtsev, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, and will face Murray next. The two know each other well.

"I played him twice on tour, and then I played him once in Hopman Cup [two weeks ago]," Matosevic said. "He beat me pretty easily, although I had 3-all, Love-40. I've seen him play a million times on TV. I've played him three times. I know what I'm going to get. I just have to focus on myself. I look forward to it. I'm sure the crowd wouldn't be so one-sided if it's against Murray. He's done a couple finals in Australia. Wherever they put us, I'm hoping we have a ripper."

Matosevic said that the world No. 6 is one of the best players in the world. The 27-year-old has reached the Australian finals on three occasions, losing to Novak Djokovic twice and Roger Federer once.

"He's one of the best players in the world," Matosevic said. "He's unbelievable physically. His skill levelis probably second only to Roger. He's one of the most skillful players. He's just a good guy. He treats everyone the same. He's just a good guy."