ANDY MURRAY says his body's positive reaction to a testing run to the semi-finals in Acapulco last week has given him confidence he is ready for the energy-sapping schedule he faces in the coming weeks.

The Scot, who had back surgery in September, climbed back to No.6 in the rankings as a result of his efforts at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel where he overcame stifling humidity as well as some difficult matches to reach the last four.

After taking on Novak Djokovic at New York's Madison Square Garden last night as part of World Tennis Day - there were concurrent events in Hong Kong and London yesterday - Murray flies straight to Indian Wells today before returning to Miami for the Sony Ericsson Open.

A trip to Naples and a Davis Cup date with Italy then awaits. However, with regard to his fitness, Murray has no qualms about the schedule that lies ahead

"The first few tournaments back were hard but my body feels good now," he said.

"Last week in Acapulco I played four matches in four days, three three-set matches which didn't start until late.

"I woke up the next day and felt fine for the first time since the surgery. That shows I am starting to recover properly though which is great."

Djokovic knows the schedules at the start of the year are tough and with Rafael Nadal by far the most fearsome player in the game at the moment, the battles between Murray and Djokovic and Roger Federer, who won in Dubai last week, will be as fierce as ever.

Djokovic said: "Back-to-back Masters [in Indian Wells and Miami] events are not easy, but with a four or five-day rest in between it helps us to recover and get ready. Of course it is very physical now so you have to be ready to perform at the top of your physical condition but [playing] the best of three sets always helps.

"What Stan Wawrinka did in Australia showed there are players outside of the top four who are capable of winning grand slams and Roger played a great tournament in Dubai.

"Rafa too is there, Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic - it's a very interesting time for men's tennis. It is still very early in the season and tough to predict who will finish No.1 but there is a bigger pool of guys challenging."