Andy Murray beaten in Brisbane
Andy Murray's winning start to 2019 came to a halt at the Brisbane International as he was beaten 7-5 6-2 by Daniil Medvedev in their second-round meeting.
A break in the first set had offered Murray, a two-time winner of the hard-court tournament, some comfort but the second was far more one-sided as Medvedev raced into a 4-0 lead.
A brief fightback that produced success in the next two games followed but Medvedev steadied to seal victory with an ace.
"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.
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.
"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, 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.
The 31-year-old from Dunblane has slipped to 240th in the world rankings following surgery on his troublesome hip and admitted yesterday that he doesn't know how much longer his career will last.