When Andy Murray was growing up, he idolised Andre Agassi for his flair, his hair and his flamboyance.

His opponent in the first round here tomorrow was so keen to be like the American he once shaved his head in tribute.

But that is where the similarities between Murray, the world No.4 and Tastuma Ito, the world No.68, end. Though they have played each other in doubles, Murray admits he knows little about the Japanese's style of play or what he is likely to expect.

The three-day start to this tournament – the same as the US Open but less annoying for the players because it does not disrupt things later on – has dealt both Murray and Rafael Nadal a later start than they might have wished for.

The two men are due to meet in the semi-finals, as they did last year, if the seedings work out, but Murray knows better than to take anything for granted after a stop-start clay-court season, interrupted by a niggling pain in his back. Ito, who is at a career-high ranking, intends to provide a thorough early test.

"Andy is a great player, but I will try to do my best and be aggressive on every point," said the 24-year-old.

"I played doubles against him last year in Japan and all I remember is he has a good serve, but doubles is not like singles. I will try 100 per cent to play with power, to try on every point and to fight."

Ito is Japan's third-highest ranked male player, but is not exactly a household name on the grand slam circuit. Yesterday, he was modest enough to suggest that he is not that well known in Japan, not even where he comes from, a small town in the very north of the country. Should he somehow find a way to beat Murray, who reached the semi-finals here last year, it would not only rank as an enormous upset, it would surely turn him into a hero.

"If I did beat him, I would be very famous," Ito admitted. "Big famous, I think."

Tomorrow's match will be only Ito's third grand slam appearance but he reached round two in Australia in January and said he was not worried about being nervous, even if his match against Murray is likely to be played on a show court, the biggest stage he has played on in his six-year pro career.

"I have talked to Andy before, asked him for some advice in practice, so I won't be nervous," he said. "I haven't spoken to him here."

Ito's ranking is based around his results on hard courts and, for the most part, at Challenger Tour level. However, he did beat Radek Stepanek, the experienced Czech, on clay at the World Team Cup last week.

Happiest on the baseline, Ito said he modelled his game on Agassi, the former world No.1.

"Agassi was so aggressive on the return and had good ground strokes; I like ground strokes and I try to play like him," he said.

"I like to be aggressive, to be powerful, from the back of the court, like Agassi. I was a skinhead, too, like him once, but I changed because it wasn't me."

In total, Ito has played just 10 matches on clay at ATP Tour level, winning four and losing six. In 2012, his record on the slow surface reads played five, won two.

Stranger things have happened, but should he win tomorrow, perhaps the barbers of Paris should be on the lookout for another Agassi-style request.