Murray claims third-place finish

Andy Murray cruised to a 7-6 6-2 victory over Marat Safin to claim third place in the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne.

The British number one, playing his final match before the Australian Open, wasted no time in seeing off the Russian, a former Australian and US Open champion, currently ranked number 26 in the world.

Murray is seeded 15th for the first grand slam of the season and will enter it in good form, having also beaten Ivan Ljubicic this week before slipping to a narrow defeat to the eventual tournament winner Andy Roddick.