Meanwhile, Bernard Tomic boosted his hopes of a strong performance in his home grand slam by winning the men's title in Sydney -- his first on the ATP Tour.
The 20-year-old, who had a disappointing 2012 season, will return to the top 50 following Saturday's 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 victory over 36th-ranked South African Kevin Anderson.
He also beat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic as he won all three singles matches at the Hopman Cup mxed teams warmup event in Perth earlier this month.
"Now that I know what it feels like to win a tournament and it's the best feeling in the world," Tomic said.
"I'm looking forward to Melbourne. I feel unstoppable."
Veteran Australian Lleyton Hewitt is also in form ahead of Melbourne, having won the Kooyong Classic exhibition.
The former world No. 1 beat world No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro on Saturday, having earlier defeated sixth-ranked Tomas Berdych and No. 15 Milos Raonic.
Now back up to 82nd in the rankings after falling out of the top 200, the 2005 Australian Open runner-up will play ninth-ranked Janko Tipsarevic in his opening match.
"I'm extremely happy with how I'm hitting the ball at the moment, and a lot of the pressure's on him," Hewitt said of the Serbian, who has suffered wrist problems since winning the Chennai Open in India this month.

Comments
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.