Andy Murray will have to wait for his 700th career win after a straight-sets defeat against Italian youngster Jannik Sinner at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Britain’s three-times grand slam winner battled well in the first set but was outplayed in the second, beaten 7-5, 6-2 by his 20-year-old opponent, one of the rising stars of the men’s game.
The first set went efficiently to serve from both ends until Sinner struck, breaking Murray – who won this tournament in 2017 – to love for 6-5. Murray got to 30-30 in the 12th game, but a mighty Sinner first serve and a stunning forehand winner later and the set had slipped away.
Sinner, already ranked 10th in the world and recently a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open, broke again with ease at the start of the second and Murray had to save two break points just to get on the board at 1-2.
However, with Sinner coming forward aggressively and putting Murray away at every opportunity, the 34-year-old won just one more game to bow out in round two.
