Andy Murray had hopes of a long run at this year’s Australian Open were ended by Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel in straight sets in Melbourne.
The Japanese player stunned three time grand slam champion Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the 2nd round of men’s singles at the John Cain Arena.
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The former world No.1 suffered his worst ever Major loss in terms of ranking and the match lasted for 2 hours and 48 minutes.
Murray had never lost to a player ranked outside the top 100 at a Grand Slam. World no.91 Arnaud Clement was the previous lowest in the second round of the US Open back in 2005.
Tennis Future Of Andy Murray In Doubt
Andy Murray has now won only four matches in five Grand Slams since his hip resurfacing operation after his last appearance here in Australia in 2019.
Murray was asked if he will return to Melbourne Park in 2023. He answered, “Yeah, I mean, yeah. But not if I do what I did tonight too often this season.”
“This is a really important year for me for a number of reasons, and I want to perform well in the big events. For me, tonight is not good enough in that respect. Making the second round of Slams is not something I find particularly motivating. I want to be doing better than that. I’m really, really disappointed. Very frustrated. Tough loss for me. That’s for sure.”
Andy Murray had marked his return to Melbourne Park by defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili in five sets.
Today he took on a much less fearsome opponent in Taro Daniel but faced a heavy defeat.
The Japanese took only five games off Murray in three sets in their only previous meeting in Davis Cup, 2016.
Andy had a heavy workload before starting in the Australia Open. The workload also included reaching the final of the ATP Tour event in Sydney at the weekend. His tournament began sluggishly and was unable to turn the tide in his favour.
This was Andy’s toughest loss in a game. He have never to someone who was ranked outside 100.
“I’m not sure I’ve lost a match to someone ranked outside 100 before in a slam. So from that respect it’s not a great loss for me.”
He continued, “If I lose in the second round of a slam to (Novak) Djokovic in five sets or something, it’s a different situation.”
At the end Murray received a warning for slamming his racket against the court. His frustration seemed to take its toll during the match.
