Andy Murray’s February torment deepened on Thursday when he lost 6-1, 6-3 to 18-year-old Croatian tyro Borna Coric in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championships.
This month the world number three has lost the Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic and then failed to live up to his top-seed billing in Rotterdam as he fell by the wayside in the quarter-finals.
Murray arrived in Dubai temporarily shorn of his coach Amelie Mauresmo before struggling to find practice partners. The lack of preparation may have led to his downfall at the Aviation Club on Thursday.
I made way too many mistakes from the beginning of the match right through to the end
“I made way too many mistakes from the beginning of the match right through to the end; early in rallies, [I was] rushing points,” the Briton said.
“It was quite similar to the match I played against [Gilles] Simon in Rotterdam, which is disappointing.”
Top seed Djokovic steamed into the last four with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Marsel Ilhan of Turkey and Roger Federer eased through when Richard Gasquet retired after losing the first set 6-1 .
Murray was completely outplayed. The Scot lost three successive service games to concede the first set 6-1.