Greg Rusedski has claimed that Andy Murray is showing clear signs of improvement as he bids to win the Australian Open for the first time.

Murray has reached the third round in Melbourne without dropping a set, and Rusedski believes that the sixth seed's form is encouraging as he looks to negotiate a potentially difficult path to the final.

"Andy's been speaking of late about three distinct areas of his game that need to keep on improving, and they have done. He wanted to keep on being aggressive with the forehand, and that was clearly evident in the straight-sets win over Matosevic," the former British number one told Eurosport

"Likewise, his serve – particularly the second serve – and his backhand were areas which Murray looked to improve upon this year, and having advanced comfortably into the third round, the Brit will feel that his Australian Open is going to plan. So far.

"Putting it simply, Andy should not be dropping a set until the fourth round at the earliest, where he is likely to play Grigor Dimitrov – his first real test of these championships, for sure."

Murray is looking to reach a final of a Grand Slam for the first time since winning Wimbledon in 2013.