Andy Murray slips to three-set defeat to Grigor Dimitrov in season opener at Brisbane International

Andy Murray suffered a tough three-set loss to Grigor Dimitrov at the Brisbane International in his 2024 season opener.

Murray’s 2023 campaign was littered with three-set losses in gruelling fashion.

And he opened his 2024 season with something similar, as he started well and appeared in control only to falter as Dimitrov claimed a 4-6 7-5 6-2 success.

Murray was called for a foot-fault in his opening service game, but it did not hinder him as he secured a hold.

Serve dominated early, with no break points for nine games.

Murray came under pressure in the ninth game, losing a mammoth rally at 30-15, but produced a superb serve on the following point and closed out the game with a whipped forehand winner.

A wayward backhand and double fault put Dimitrov in a hole in the 10th game. He threw a drive volley into the net to hand Murray two set points and the Bulgarian sent a forehand over the baseline to cap a horror game as Murray took the opening set.

After both players had been so strong on serve, errors crept in as the second set began, with three breaks in a row seeing Dimitrov take a lead at 6-5.

Murray made Dimitrov work hard and earned a break point with a stunning forehand lob on the run that drew applause from his opponent.

Dimitrov staved off the break point with what could be one of the shots of the year – on the first day of 2024. Having broken a string on the previous shot, he was faced with a high ball that landed on the baseline. Knowing playing on with a broken string would be perilous, he went for broke and hit a smash at full tilt which landed on the sideline for a clean winner.

It set Dimitrov up to close out the set and force a decider.

The balance of power shifted to the Bulgarian towards the end of the second set, and he earned an early break in the third as Murray’s frustration grew.

Murray looked fatigued and Dimitrov executed a series of clever shot choices to secure a double break.

A deft drop shot worked the break point and a crunching forehand return on a weak Murray second serve saw him move into a 3-0 lead.

It appeared Murray’s best hope was for Dimitrov to run out of racquets, as he continued to break strings.

Murray stopped the bleeding and avoided a bagel with a strong hold in the fifth game of the decider to snap a run of four breaks of serve in a row.

Dimitrov produced some excellent performances in 2023 – a run to the final of the Paris Masters one of the highlights – and he stood firm in the face of a Murray revival towards the end of the third to close out the match with an ace in two hours and 25 minutes.