BEIJING: Andy Murray squandered three match points against Australia’s Alex De Minaur before crashing out in the first round of the China Open in Beijing on Thursday.
Murray cut a frustrated figure throughout the match and earned a warning from the umpire after repeatedly hurling his racquet to the ground on his way to a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 defeat.
The former world number one lost his opening service game and handed the first set to the 24-year-old Australian with a limp forehand into the net.
The two-time Wimbledon champion found his groove in the second, easing a passing shot past a stranded De Minaur to gain a decisive break of serve and force a deciding set.
Murray broke again early but could not convert three match points before sending a forehand long to lose the tie-break 8-6.
The 36-year-old Scot has suffered multiple injuries in recent years and had career-saving surgery in 2019 that fitted him with a metal hip.
De Minaur will play either world number three Daniil Medvedev or American Tommy Paul in the second round.
The China Open is being held for the first time since 2019 following the end of Beijing’s isolationist zero-Covid policy. The men’s tournament has attracted a host of big names including seven of the world’s eight top-ranked players.
A notable omission is world number one Novak Djokovic who this month said without elaborating that he would not be competing in China this year.
The women’s event will get underway this week after its global governing body ended its boycott of China.
The WTA had halted its engagements in the country after Chinese player Peng Shuai made sexual assault allegations against a top government official.
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