Andy Murray plays down strike talk

Great Britain's Andy Murray has moved to play down suggestions that some tennis players are considering strike action.

The 24-year-old fuelled speculation regarding the matter last month when he hinted that some of his fellow professionals would consider temporarily downing tools in protest at the current match calender.

However, the Scot has now revealed that he is surprised by how seriously his comments were taken.

"Me, and not any of the players I know, want to strike," said Murray, who is about to begin the defence of his Shanghai Masters title.

"When I said it was a possibility, I didn't expect that to be such a massive [media issue].

"It's so far away from being at that level. The players haven't even sat down and talked."

Murray recently triumphed at events in Thailand and Japan.