Andy Murray's winning start to 2019 came to a halt at the Brisbane International after he was beaten 7-5 6-2 by Daniil Medvedev in their second-round meeting.
Murray, who continues to be affected by a long-term hip injury, overcame James Duckworth in his opening match of the year on New Year's Day but was
comprehensively beaten by Medvedev.
The 31-year-old Briton has slipped to 240th in the world rankings following
surgery on his troublesome hip and admitted after overcoming Duckworth that he does not know how much longer his career will last.
Sealed with an ace. It was an impressive display tonight for No.4 seed Daniil Medvedev, who beats two-time #BrisbaneTennis winner Andy Murray 7-5 6-2 to move into the quarter-finals 🎥 @Channel9 @9Go pic.twitter.com/n6GO7JQXqT — #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 2, 2019
Medvedev fired 16 aces to set-up a quarter-final appointment with Canadian Milos Raonic on Friday.
"He served extremely well and I didn't really get many chances on his service games," Murray said.
"And then on my own service games I made a few too many errors in the rallies, especially early on I was trying to play a little bit more offensive.
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 — #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 2, 2019
"In the second set, I made a few too many mistakes, and obviously there was a period in the match from 5-5 where I lost six games in a row.
"When you play better players... they will expose any errors that you make in your game or any shots that you're not hitting particularly well. And he did that."
Murray put up a fight in the opening set having slipped 3-1 behind, winning four of the next five games to seize a 5-4 lead.
But the momentum changed with the score tied at 5-5 in the 11th when he failed to convert two break points to lose the game and then concede the set as Medvedev claimed the next six games.
The second set was more one-sided as Murray, a two-time winner of the
hard-court tournament which serves as a warm-up for the Australian Open, allowed Medvedev to power 4-0 ahead.
A brief fightback that produced success in the next two games followed but
Medvedev steadied to seal victory with an ace.
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