Andy Murray’s perfect record at the Brisbane International has come to an end after he crashed out 7-5, 6-2, to third seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round on Wednesday.
Murray, who is a two-time champion of the tournament, struggled to find a solution to tame his Russian opponent. Hitting a sequence of costly errors that played into the hands of Medvedev. During the first set, the former world No.1 battled back from a break down to level at 4-4. However, Medvedev went on to break once again to clinch the 7-5 with the help of a love service game. Then in the second set the world No.16 claimed four games in a row on route to victory.
“The first game (of the year) is always tough, especially against Andy. You never know what ability he is at right now, but he is one of the champions of our sport.” Medvedev said afterwards.
“It was not a easy first round for me, but I’m happy with the way I played and manage to win in two sets.”
Overall, Medvedev hit 27 winners to 15 unforced errors. A stark contrast to Murry’s tally of 14 and 20. He also fired 16 aces during the 81-minute match to book a quarter-final clash with former champion Milos Raonic. A player Medvedev defeated in straight sets at the Japan Open back in October.
“Milos is always tough to play. It’s tough to win a game against his serve, but I played a good match against him in Tokyo. Let’s see if I can do the same on Thursday.” He said.
Meanwhile, Murray is drawing positives from his week in Brisbane. The two-time champion was playing in the tournament for the first time since 2013. Despite recently admitting that he continued to experience pain in his hip, which was operated on 12 months ago, he stated that his movement on the court was fine.
Andy Murray says he felt like Medvedev served really well, but that he felt good in his movement. Lost his way from end of first set to midway through second#BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/oZTU2Nu9za
— Brisbane International (@BrisbaneTennis) January 2, 2019
Elsewhere, Alex de Minaur is the last Australian player left in this year’s field. The 2018 runner-up eased his way past compatriot Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-2, without facing a single break point.
“I’m extremely proud with how I’ve handled myself these first couple matches,” he said afterwards. “I’m really looking forward to playing in the quarter-finals.”
De Minaur will next play lucky loser Taro Daniel, who replaces an injured Rafael Nadal, or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
