ANDY Murray has overcome many hurdles in his career, the biggest of all when he won on Centre Court at Wimbledon on July 7, 2013.

Almost 19 months later, the Scot faces another on Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena.

Murray today steps out on to court in Melbourne to contest the champ- ionship match here for the fourth time. There are still painful memories after three bruising defeats but they could all be banished with victory against Novak Djokovic to finally claim that elusive Australian Open crown.

The British No 1 comes into the match in better shape than in any of his previous finals Down Under. Djokovic, meanwhile, may have reached the semi-finals without dropping a set but his victory in five against Stan Wawrinka was hardly one to have Murray shaking in his boots.

Not that Murray was watching. He was out for dinner and was content enough to occasionally check the latest score on his phone. It gives you a sense of how relaxed Murray is as he prepares for his eighth Grand Slam final and his 24th meeting with Djokovic, who leads their head-to-head record 15-8.

Murray is quite happy to settle for the status of underdog. Ask around the corners of Melbourne Park and while most acknowledge Murray has played the best tennis this fortnight, there is the nod of acknowledgement that Djokovic has the experience of success here four times, twice beating Murray to lift the trophy.

"I know it's going to be extremely difficult to win the match," said Murray. "I know if I want to win, it will probably be very, very tough and challenging physically. So I need to prepare myself mentally for that. He has a fantastic record here. He obviously loves the court and the conditions. And it would be a big upset if I manage to win.

"I've never won against him here before. I think I've lost to him the last four times we have played against each other, as well and maybe only won one set.

"I played him a couple of times at the end of last year and lost pretty comfortably. For me it would be a big turnaround in a few months if I was able to win. I'm not saying it's not a possibility, but it's going to be very, very tough."

While the words coming out of his mouth may not smack of overwhelming confidence, you get the sense that he and his team are in a good place. Long-time assistant coach Dani Vallverdu may have left the camp during the off-season and though there are some who worried that the departure of such a close confidant could have a negative effect, it has turned out to be the opposite.

Although it would not have been a direct goal of his, Murray's efforts here have already guaranteed him a reunion with the rest of the "big four" - Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal - at the top of the world rankings. No lower than fourth spot for Murray is already guaranteed and he will move to No 3 if he wins today. After dropping to No 12 in September, it is one way of measuring the improvements he made during his traditional off-season block in his second home of Miami.

"I knew I needed to work on a lot of things," admitted the 27-year-old. "But I also believed that with the right attitude, the right work ethic and the right people behind me that I'd be able to get back to playing my best again because there were periods in the [last] year where I did feel like I was able to do it. I wasn't necessarily sustaining it for whole matches and whole tournaments. That is what I really needed to change.

"To do that I needed to just get a little bit fitter again, which I think playing all those tournaments at the end of last year really helped. And I also put in a good training block so I could work on any of the weaknesses or the issues I was having in my game last year. I feel like I did that."

The December training block in Florida finally afforded Mauresmo the chance to have a sustained period of time on the practice court with Murray. After taking over the vacancy caused by the departure of Ivan Lendl in March, the Frenchwoman started duties at London's Queen's Club just two weeks before Wimbledon which was hardly the ideal time.

By the look of Murray's game in Melbourne, Mauresmo has finally had the chance to make her mark, although she is not keen to reveal too much.

"I'm not sure I'm really going to go into specific details of his game or whatever," said Mauresmo. "He has mentioned already his serve, which was one big part of the work. We also still need to do some work [on that], I think, but it's already improving. It's not all going to happen like that [clicks fingers].

"I think the big part for him is that he is now capable physically of being on the court for a long time, for long best-of-five matches. He wasn't able to do that at the US Open, for instance. Yes, we spent quite a lot of time on the court so that he knows he can last, so that he knows he can do the things and he can do the evolution in his game throughout the long sessions and throughout long matches."

Mauresmo may be remaining fairly tight-lipped on the technical details of his improvements but they have not escaped the eyes of Murray's arch rival Djokovic.

"I think he's going for the shots," said Djokovic. "He's one of the best defenders in the game, no question about it. He is an incredible counter- puncher. He's got a lot of variety in his game. He's got also a big serve. I think if he serves well, that's a huge confidence boost and advantage for him. He feels that he's more relaxed on the court and he can swing through his shots from the baseline.

"I think his forehand has improved, judging by the matches he has played during these couple [last] of weeks compared to a few months ago. The courts are playing a little bit faster in the last two years than it was in the previous years in Rod Laver Arena.

"Because they are faster, because the ball is bouncing a bit lower, that's pretty suitable to his style of the game. He likes that. He has a flat backhand and moves around the court pretty well. So it's going to be a very physical match, no doubt about that."

If Murray lifts the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, perhaps to the surprise of some he will be as close to a career Grand Slam as Pete Sampras and John McEnroe were, having won the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013. It would be a deserved reward for all the hard yards.

"I think obviously it would be a good achievement," said Murray. "I know winning any of the slams is a very challenging and tough thing to do.

"Winning three or four slams in this era seems like nothing because of everything that the other guys have done. But it's a very difficult thing to do. So whether I win or not, I still feel like my record here has been a good one."