Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka suffered contrasting opening round defeats to Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Adrian Mannarino respectively.
Starting with Murray, the five-time finalist suffered a very flat straight sets defeat to 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
The Brit was broken in the opening game but came back strong as the opening set lasted over an hour.
Both players produced moments of aggression as well as good defensive shots as the opening set was a grind.
However it was Martin Etcheverry who dealt the crucial blow as he claimed the opening set 6-4.
From then on it was one-way traffic as Murray was flat emotionally and physically as the Argentinian claimed a 6-4 6-2 6-2 victory.
There is a lot of contemplating for Murray to do as this is another setback in his bid to gain motivation.
As for Martin Etcheverry he will now face Gael Monfils in the second round after the Frenchman defeated Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets.
Wawrinka Ousted Out In Five Sets
Meanwhile Stan Wawrinka suffered a more competitive defeat as he lost to Adrian Mannarino in five sets.
A thrilling contest saw the former champion lead by two sets to one in front of a fiery KIA Arena.
However Wawrinka eventually ran out of energy as he lost 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-3 6-0 to the Frenchman.
Speaking after the match Wawrinka tried to take the positives out of the match and hoped it wouldn’t be his final appearance in Melbourne, “It was a tough battle. I was playing well, tough conditions against a tough player,” Wawrinka stated in his press conference.
“Yeah, it was a bit tough at the end. Couldn’t really push myself more. I didn’t do the work I wanted in the offseason because I got injured in the last tournament. So it was a race a bit to come back here.
“But I’m quite happy with the ten days I had here. I had some good practice. Today was a good level in general. I’m just sad with the result, but it is what it is.
“I will see how the year goes. It’s just the beginning of the year. In general, I’m quite positive with where I am right now. Even after the loss, I think there is some good opportunity for me to keep pushing, keep playing some good result, and hopefully I can come back next year.”
As for Mannarino, the 20th seed will play Jaume Munar in the second round on Wednesday.
