Andy Murray leads the field for the 2012 Brisbane International which gets underway on January 1st.
You have to go back six years to find the last time Murray started his season with an ATP event in Australia. The world number four has generally opted to compete in the more wintry conditions in Doha or make a leisurely start to the season with the Hopman Cup exhibition event. Tennis players are a superstitious bunch and after reaching two Aussie Open finals on the bounce, it's surprising that Murray's decided to mix things up.
However Brisbane has been ploughing cash into this event and it looks set to be a special week with most of the women's top 20 competing in the WTA Premier event which runs alongside this tournament.
Bernard Tomic will be preparing to shoulder the hopes of nation at Melbourne Park in a fortnight's time and his fans will be eagerly following his results this week.
Tomic doesn't have the best of records in ATP 250 events and Murray's serious challenges will probably come from the likes of Gilles Simon who won the Sydney title in 2011 before pushing Roger Federer to five sets at the Aussie Open.
Japan's Kei Nishikori caused quite a stir in 2011, cracking the top 30 for the first time and the 22 year old will be a big contender this week along with Alex Dolgopolov who hit the headlines at last year's Aussie Open with his run to the quarters.
