Andy Murray’s preparations for the Australian Open suffered a setback following a frustrating first-round loss to second seed Grigor Dimitrov at the Brisbane International.
The unseeded Scot was on course to advance after taking the opening set of a tense battle between two former tournament champions on Pat Rafter Arena.
But Dimitrov hit back to progress 4-6 7-5 6-2 and inflict another early exit on Murray following his second-round victory when the pair met at last year’s US Open.
Now that's lovely, @andy_murray 😍@BrisbaneTennis | #Brisbanetennis pic.twitter.com/5iDp2dw5rG
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 1, 2024
The world number 14 will face either Australian qualifier Li Tu or Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in round two.
Murray was playing his first competitive singles match since a first-round loss to Alex de Minaur at the Paris Masters in late October after a shoulder injury ruled him out of representing Great Britain in the Davis Cup finals.
The 36-year-old initially impressed during a tight encounter which remained on serve until he capitalised on an error-strewn 10th game from his opponent to clinch the opening set.
That's straight ridiculous…@GrigorDimitrov just might have given us the shot of the year on January 1st 🤯@BrisbaneTennis | #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/o7SJraWEZM
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 1, 2024
But Dimitrov calmly responded to force a decider by edging a more chaotic second set which ended with both players struggling to hold serve.
The Bulgarian’s efforts to level were aided by saving a crucial break point with a stunning baseline smash while playing with a broken string.
Three-time grand slam champion Murray was visibly annoyed by the momentum shift and offered little resistance in a relatively one-sided final set as Dimitrov won in just under two-and-a-half hours.
