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Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray shared their wishes for 2014 as they compete in the first tournament of the 2014 ATP World Tour season in Doha.

World No. 1 Nadal, the top seed at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, expressed his hope for good health and equality for all.

“2013 will be in my heart forever. I wish health for everybody. That's the most important thing. Without health, the rest of the things are impossible. So for everybody that's the most important thing.

"Then there’s a lot of work that can be done in this world to make it better for everybody so no one has big disadvantages over other people. That’s why I have my foundation, and hopefully we will try to help more people and it will be a more fair and equal world.”

The 26-year-old Murray, who advanced to the second round in Doha after a 6-0, 6-0 win Tuesday, talked about using the end of each year as a time to reflect on the past season. “It's nice to spend it with [my team] because we have a lot of stuff to talk about the end of most years, funny things that have happened during the year, things we have done together.

“Normally a few things that not everyone knew kind of gets brought up, things that are irritating each other at certain times. It’s normally a good chat.”

The 2013 Wimbledon champion isn’t big on resolutions – “because very rarely do people really stick to them” – but has rallied his team to be supportive of each other in the coming year. “Everyone will try and make a New Year's resolution and the rest of the team has to support them with it throughout the year. We said if that was a goal of someone's, then the rest of the team would have to help them with it.”

Both Nadal and Murray faced major health challenges in 2013 which forced them onto the sidelines. In his hiatus from competition, Murray realised his appreciation for the gruelling life on tour.

“For me the period of having the back surgery and how I was going to deal with that, that was when you actually go in to do it and spend those kind of days in the hospital, and then you can't really do anything after that and you're just kind of sitting down, then you appreciate what it's like to be an athlete and be able to do all of those things.

“Then when that's taken away from you, you appreciate what you have a little bit more. Then you start to miss playing, you miss travelling, you miss just being around the tournaments. [Tournament] days can seem like it’s a long day and it’s a drag. But when you're away and you can't have that, it doesn't seem so bad. You learn that that's what you want to be doing.

"That was kind of a process that you go through in your head. When you have the surgery you're not thinking about it, but after a few weeks, you're like, 'Oh, I really want to be back playing again. I want to be healthy again. I want to be able to train properly again.'”

For Nadal, his successful return to the ATP World Tour surpassed even his own expectations. “I did more than what I ever thought I ever dreamed,” said the Spaniard. “I feel the same pressure today as one year ago - to keep having chances to compete well, to play in the best stadiums and be part of the best matches.

“The only difference is that today I already had a year of playing with my [healthy] knee. A year ago I didn’t know what was going to happen after the injury. So my goal for the year is to hopefully stay healthy and play another full season.”