A cautious Andy Murray says he will begin another tennis year with pain and is eager to see how his troublesome hip handles match conditions at the Brisbane International next week.

Murray called a halt to a six-tournament season in October in order to rest and strength the hip which had required surgery after he was unable to play a match on his frustrating trip to Australia last summer.

But Scotland’s dual Wimbledon champion, who flew into Brisbane on Thursday morning from a Christmas at home in London, insisted he is physically better than he was 12 months ago or during the northern summer.

“I still have some pain in my hip but I need to play matches and see how it feels when I am able to play three, four, five matches in a row and take it from there,’’ Murray said.

“I’m in a better place than I was a few months ago. I played a few tournaments in the summer in the UK and the US and I feel better than I did then.

“Last year when I came here was tough - I was struggling quite a lot.

“It definitely feels a bit better than I did coming here last year. I am looking forward to it - I’ve always loved playing here.’’

Asked what hopes to achieve in Brisbane and at the Australian Open, Murray, 31, said: “I would just like to get through the tournaments and feel like I am able to compete and not be restricted by my hip, which was the case for most of the events I played (in 2018).

The tough Scot is ranked No.256 because of his limited program but gets into the Brisbane main draw, which starts on Monday, on the basis of his injury-protected ranking of No.2.

Under ATP rules it does not guarantee him a seeding, so he could be drawn against one of the eight seeds, including Rafael Nadal and Australians Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios, in the early rounds at the Queensland Tennis Centre.

Nadal, a member like Murray of the “big four’’ of men’s tennis, would in particular present a punishing test of his match readiness in the first week of the season.

But Murray said almost wistfully that he had missed the drag-‘em-out contests with his peers.

“That’s one of the things I’ve missed from not playing, being able to compete against those guys,’’ he said.

“It’s what has always motivates me and driven me throughout my whole career. I’d love to play against some of the big guys - it’s tough. I’d rather play them late in the event, but I can’t pick and choose as I’m ranked No.250.’’

World No.19 Grigor Dimitrov arrived on a morning flight from Los Angeles for his seventh Brisbane International campaign and will not have his coaching consultant Andre Agassi with him until he moves on to Melbourne, where the Australian Open starts on January 14.

Dimitrov trained for two weeks this month at Las Vegas, where Agassi punished himself into top shape for four winning Australian Open assaults.

“We are just ready. That is one of the main messages from Andre - we are ready to fight,’’ Dimitrov, the 2017 Brisbane champion and former world No.3, said.

“We have done the work. It’s the best you can do and I have tried to give 100 per cent. Hopefully I can get some matches back to back in Brisbane.’’