Andy Murray’s considerable efforts to rebuild his faltering form took a crushing blow on Wednesday . Despite fighting hard for more than three hours, his nerves betrayed him in the decisive moments against the impressive 18-year-old Jakub Mensik and he eventually succumbed in the second round of the Qatar Open. At three hours 24 minutes, it was the longest match in the tournament’s history.
Throughout his dire past six months on the tour, Murray has insisted that he has been performing well in practice and he has simply struggled badly to produce the same level under pressure in matches. His performance on Wednesday further underlined that rather than his body betraying him, as would be expected from a 36-year-old with a metal hip, at the moment he simply cannot get out of his own head.
There was reason for Murray to be positive as he arrived on court after clinching his first win of the season against the world No 75, Alexandre Muller, on Tuesday. A different challenge awaited against Mensik, who opened the match dictating the rallies off both wings, keenly closing off points at the net and demonstrating his excellent athleticism. But Murray turned the set around from 3-5 down, building a 6-4 lead in the tie-break.
Then Murray crumbled. He brilliantly set up an easy backhand volley only to dumpit into the middle of the net and he subsequently lost four points in a row with a flurry of errors to concede the set.
To his credit, Murray immediately shook off his considerable frustration. Both players held firm in their service games, but it was Murray who was striking the ball with freedom and controlling the baseline as he dominated the second tie-break.
His purple patch was short-lived and as his Czech opponent broke through early and rolled through the set Murray continually chastised himself: “You don’t really believe in yourself. So weak,” he said at one point.
He fought until the last, reeling off four games in a row from 2-5 and carrying that form into the third tie-break. When it truly mattered, though, Mensik held his nerve to close out a crazy, turbulent contest.
Murray did not perform badly, fought well and he offered himself more than enough opportunities to win. But throughout his career, Murray’s mental strength has been one of his most important qualities. It is his biggest weakness and as long as he is unable to play freely in the decisive moments under pressure, he will be punished.
For Mensik, the victory marked perhaps the biggest win of his career. He now stands on the verge of a long stint in the top 100 and he will face either Andrey Rublev, the top seed, or Richard Gasquet in his first ATP quarter-final.
Elsewhere, Carlos Alcaraz’s difficult start to the season continued as the world No 2 sprained his ankle in the second point of his first-round match against Thiago Monteiro before retiring at 1-1. However, Alcaraz is confident he will be fit to play Indian Wells as well as a Las Vegas exhibition with Rafael Nadal on 3 March
The Spaniard, 20, wrote on Instagram: “I just had an MRI on my ankle after yesterday’s injury. After the meeting with my doctor and my physiotherapists the diagnosis is a grade II lateral sprain. I have a sprain that will keep me out for a few days! See you in Las Vegas and Indian Wells!”
