Andy Murray will kick off the defence of his Sony Ericsson Open title against either Mardy Fish or Leonardo Mayer.

The Scot, who beat Novak Djokovic 6-2 7-5 in last year's final, has been seeded three for the $3,645,000 tournament and will be looking to bounce back from his quarter-final exit at the hands of Sweden's Robin Soderling in last week's BNP Paribas in Indian Wells.

Mayer, ranked 60 in the world, should come through against Fish who is 41 places below him in the ATP list in their first-round clash.

Murray beat Mayer in their only clash to date which came in the Valencia ATP last November, while he has a 3-1 record against Fish, winning their last meeting which came at Queen's Club in 2009.

The 22-year-old, in the same half of the draw as world number one Roger Federer who won the event in 2005 and 2006, is relishing the chance to defend his crown in familiar surroundings.

"Miami is one of my favourite cities,' said the British number one.

"It's where I spend a lot of time training and I feel comfortable there."

After reaching the Australian Open final in January, Murray had played just two matches in five weeks before he arrived in Indian Wells a week ago, but he believes his efforts have put him in good shape.

""The four matches I had here will definitely benefit me," he said.

"I'm hoping I'll play some of my best tennis in Miami having had four matches and a bit more time to prepare."