Unfortunately, Andy Murray’s training for the Australian Open was hindered by a disappointing defeat in the first round to the second-ranked player, Grigor Dimitrov, at the Brisbane International.
The Scottish player, who was not seeded, seemed to be on track to move forward in the match after winning the first set of a tight competition against two previous tournament winners on Pat Rafter Arena. However, Dimitrov fought back to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 and hand Murray another early elimination, similar to their meeting in the second round of the US Open last year.
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The 14th-ranked player in the world will compete against either Li Tu, an Australian qualifier, or Daniel Altmaier from Germany in the second round.
After recovering from a shoulder injury that prevented him from playing in the Davis Cup finals for Great Britain, Murray returned to competitive singles play. His first match since October’s Paris Masters was a close one, with both players holding their serves until Murray took advantage of his opponent’s mistakes in the 10th game to win the first set.
Dimitrov remained composed and forced a final set after narrowly winning a tumultuous second set. Towards the end, both players had difficulty holding their serves. The Bulgarian’s attempt to even the score was helped by a remarkable baseline smash to save a crucial break point, despite playing with a broken string.
Murray, a three-time grand slam winner, showed clear frustration at the shift in momentum and was unable to put up much of a fight in the final set, which ended up being one-sided. Dimitrov emerged victorious after a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
