Andy Murray, the former world number one, lost to 18-year-old phenom Jakub Mensik in the second round of the Qatar Open on Wednesday, which put an end to his hopes of having a prosperous 2024.
In the first round on Tuesday, Murray, 36, broke a run of six straight losses, but it was not enough as he lost 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (3/7), and 7-6 (7/4) to Mensik after nearly three and a half hours on the court and three tie-breaks.
“I’m just speechless right now, I don’t know what to say,” Mensik stated upon reaching his first ATP quarterfinal.
After his victory, Mensik will face the highly anticipated Russian Andrey Rublev on Thursday.
It was a difficult match; Murray is a fantastic player, and I saw him win Wimbledon twice on TV. He continued, “It is amazing that he can still play among the world’s finest players at this age.
Murray saw the defeat as a blow to his hopes of atonement and as putting his ranking at risk.
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The former world number one, who made it to the final in Doha last year, will lose a lot of ranking points and fall outside the top 60 next week.
Murray had a difficult start to 2024 after losing his first four games, raising concerns about the sustainability of his career. This setback comes within this difficult period.
The three-time Grand Slam winner is unflinching, promising to “keep fighting” and perform at a level he feels he is still “capable of” reaching.
Mensik is a gifted athlete with strong physical attributes and a promising future who has not yet cracked the top 100 in the world.
Mensik’s success in Doha has already seen him jump 14 spots to occupy position 102 in the ATP live rankings.
After an exhausting three hours and twenty-three-minute fight that currently stands as the longest match in Qatar Open history, Murray’s obvious irritation was evident as he quickly left the court.
Mensik will now play Andrey Rublev, the top-seeded Russian, on Thursday in the competition quarterfinal.
