andy murray

will_lufc · andy murray

Murray crashes out of Aussie Open

Murray could not get to grips with Tsonga's serve
British number one Andy Murray crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round, slumping to a 7-5 6-4 0-6 7-6 (7-5) defeat by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Tsonga took control in the early stages and his solid serve and fierce forehand gave the ninth seed few opportunities.

The Frenchman, ranked 38th in the world, went two sets up before Murray hit back with a whitewash in the third.

A tense fourth set went to a tie-break before Tsonga, despite struggling with a thigh injury, came through to win.

It was a massively disappointing display by the Scot, who had gone into the tournament with realistic hopes of claiming his first Grand Slam title.

Tsonga, who ended Tim Henman's career when he beat him at the 2007 US Open, was always thought to be a dangerous opponent but it was Murray's failure to perform that ultimately proved to be his downfall.

From the start, Tsonga dominated rallies with his powerful groundstrokes - and Murray never got to grips with his serve either.

Murray was on the backfoot but continued with his approach of trying to draw errors from his opponent, even when Tsonga seemed unable to miss.

Only in the third set, when Tsonga needed treatment for a thigh injury, did Murray seize the initiative but the fourth set was a far tighter affair.

Tsonga served for the match at 5-4 up only to produce his worst service game by some distance, allowing Murray to haul himself level.

Things got even more tense as the match went into a tie-break but, after some mesmerising tennis, Murray double-faulted to trail 5-4 and never recovered - a wild forehand flying out to give Tsonga a memorable victory in three hours and 14 minutes.