21 February 2024 , 18:55
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Andy Murray appeared to admit 'this game is not for me anymore' as he fell to 18-year-old Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open second round, 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4).
The brutal admission came with the former Wimbledon champion aiming to convert a break point with the scores level at 5-5 in the second set. Murray was unable to capitalise and placed the ball into the net before vocalising his frustrations with the downbeat comment.
It was not the first opportunity Murray missed in the match having wasted two set points during the tiebreaker in the opening set. Having been 6-4 down, Mensik was able to score four points in a row to take the lead in the match.
The Scotsman battled back from the disappointment to force a deciding set. After a tense back and forth, Murray was able to find some of his best tennis to navigate through another tie-break in a rare moment of relative comfort in the match.
The 36-year-old soon found himself playing catch-up in the third set as he was broken during his first service game. Mensik was able to earn a 5-2 lead to find himself in position to serve for the set.
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Murray managed to show the tenacity that has been his trademark and fought back. He staved off defeat by breaking Mensik's serve twice to ensure another tie-break was required to decide the match.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist's teenage opponent was able to keep his nerve however Mensik secured a narrow victory in what was the longest match in Doha history, clocking in at three hours and 23 minutes. The Czechia national moves on to the quarter-finals of the competition and will face Andrey Rublev, the tournament's number-one seed.
Jakub Mensik prepares to shake hands with Andy Murray after he victory at the ATP Qatar Open tennis tournament (KARIM JAAFAR/AFP)Mensik had some kind words for Murray following the match. He said: "I'm just speechless right now, I don’t know what to say. I know that a lot of the fans wanted Andy to win today, so hopefully they will come to watch my match tomorrow. I’m just happy.
"It was a tough match today. Andy is an unbelievable player, I know that. When I was young, I watched him win Wimbledon two times, so it’s unbelievable that he can still compete with the best players in the world."
Having made the final of last year's Qatar Open where he lost in straight sets to Daniel Medvedev, Murray is set to lose several rankings points. The former finalist could drop to around 66th in the World after not matching his performance from a year ago.