Andy Murray admitted he is not enjoying his tennis after suffering another disappointing defeat to Australian Alex de Minaur in the first round of the Paris Masters.
Murray had lost all five previous matches against the Australian, including three this season with the most recent coming in Beijing where the Briton failed to convert three match points.
The former world number one looked on course to end that run on Monday after recovering from losing the opening set tie-break to lead 5-2 in the decider.
*5-2 30-30*5-4 40-30@alexdeminaur simply CANNOT lose to Andy Murray 😈
The Aussie extends his H2H vs the Scot to 6-0 by coming back to win 7-6 4-6 7-5 at the #RolexParisMasters! pic.twitter.com/4CSaJrKKvm
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 30, 2023
However, Murray failed to win either of his next two service games – despite having a match point in the second – and the world number 13 prevailed 7-6 (5) 4-6 7-5 in just over three hours.
Murray’s temper boiled over during the final set, knocking the drinks bottles and towel off his bench during a change of ends before he smashed his racket off the floor after the last point.
The disappointing run of form has left the 36-year-old two-time Wimbledon champion questioning what else he has to do to get back to winning ways.
“I’m not really enjoying it just now in terms of how I feel on the court and how I’m playing,” Murray told several national newspapers.
Keeping his #NittoATPFinals hopes alive 🙏@alexdeminaur rallies from the brink of defeat to extend his head-to-head record over Murray to 6-0.@RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/ViUiBB8Kzk
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 30, 2023
“The last five, six months haven’t been that enjoyable, so I need to try and find some of that enjoyment back because playing a match like that there’s not much positivity there.
“When I play a good point, I’m not really getting behind myself and then in the important moments, that will to win and fight that has always been quite a big, big part of my game…”
Another Briton who did not enjoy the match was Katie Boulter – the girlfriend of De Minaur.
The British number one wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Had enough Alex and Andy for the rest of my life. No more please and thank you.”
Had enough Alex and Andy for the rest of my life. No more please and thank you 👍🏼
— Katie Boulter (@katiecboulter) October 30, 2023
Murray, who is entered for next week’s ATP 250 event in Metz, said he will take some time to consider whether to play for Great Britain in the Davis Cup at the end of November.
He added: “If I want to keep going, I’m going to need a lot of work.
“It’s not just going to be like one or two weeks of training to get me to where I need to get to, it’s going to have to be a lot of work and consistent work to give myself a chance.”
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