Reformed Bernard Tomic chuffed by return to Davis Cup

Bernard Tomic quickly put aside a 6-3, 6-1 loss on Saturday to second seed Andy Murray at the ATP Miami Masters as the excitement of a Davis Cup return builds for the Australian number one.

Tomic, ranked 45th, was unable to maintain early momentum against Murray in the heat of a steamy Florida afternoon, blaming exposure to too much air-conditioning for a troublesome virus.

"I didn't play very good in the second set," acknowledged Tomic, who is also teaming with Davis Cup teammate Lleyton Hewitt in doubles in Miami. "I didn't feel at 100 per cent, I tried my best but it was not good enough."

"I've had some sort of flu for the last few days, I can't breath through my nose and I lose energy quickly on court," he said.

"I felt good in my first round, but I must have slept under too much A/C. The match was played in very hot conditions, and I was soon struggling. After losing the first set it was going to be really difficult to come back from a set down."

Although Tomic offered little resistance in the second set, Murray wasn't sure that he deserved the jeers he heard from the crowd.

"I obviously just try to concentrate on my side of the court," Murray said. "The one thing I would say is that if you aren't used to playing in these conditions, it is extremely hot and tough to play. It is tough when you're going behind and making quite a lot of mistakes...

"So I don't know. The crowd, they're free to do whatever they want."

Tomic, champion in Sydney in the run-up to the Australian Open, heads next to Munich when his doubles run is done to train with the Australian team for the Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan.

Tomic said he was genuinely pleased to be back on the Davis Cup team. The 20-year-old Queenslander has won eight of his 10 singles rubbers and will be a welcome asset to skipper Pat Rafter in the Asia-Oceania Zone second-round tie with Uzbekistan.

"I'm very, very happy to be back on the team," said the player whose feud with Rafter exploded last year. Tomic had originally said he would not be available for the upcoming tie after being left off the side which beat Chinese Taipei in February because of what Rafter called a lack of professionalism.

"I always want to play Davis Cup. I want to thank Pat for picking me," Tomic said. "Wherever it is I'll always be happy to play for country.

"Lleyton has always told me what a huge thing Davis Cup is. We have a good chance to beat Uzbekistan. I'm back where I want to be, I'm looking forward to playing Davis Cup again and I'll give my best."