Andy Murray’s journey for the Dubai Open title ended abruptly when the Brit lost to the Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 on Wednesday. That tournament was the first in which Murray participated since the Australian Open, during which he was upset by Roger Federer in the final.

Murray has never had an easy time with the Serb, who evened their career record to 3-3 and challenged a player who displayed not even a shadow of the skill seen in the Australian Open games in early January.

Murray entered the Dubai tournament coming from a long break and stated that he didn’t expect much from the tournament since he wasn’t well prepared for it. He wasn’t yet, he claimed, playing his normal game; instead, he was still experimenting on the court. There was much more serve and volley than there was aggression and big shots.

Tipsarevic took the lead in the first set and took the tiebreak 7-3. Murray broke the Serb’s serve in the first game of the second set, the Brit’s only break in the match. It was enough, though, to bring the match to a tie at the end of the second set.

In the third, Murray struggled with 3-0, trying to equalize. He failed to take five break points, costing him the match in the end.

"It was obviously disappointing to lose, but I tried some things out and I think it was a good learning experience for me," Murray said. "I would like to have won, but it's not the end of the world. If it was a Slam or something my tactics and my game style would have been a bit different."

Nikolay Davydenko also left the tournament early, retiring after losing his first set against the German Michael Berrer because of a painful wrist. Davydenko claimed to have injured the wrist two weeks ago while playing in Rotterdam.

In the Dubai tournament, Davydenko stated that he first felt the pain in his wrist on Tuesday. The discomfort subsided briefly, and then resurged during the match against Berrer. The injury leaves his position in Russia’s Davis Cup tie, in which he was formerly the favorite, in doubt.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic was the only one in the top 10 that passed the second round. Djokovic defeated fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 3-6 6-4 6-2. Djokovic recovered from being one set down against Troicki, who proved a formidable opponent.

Troicki broke Djokovic’s serve twice in the first set, in the second and ninth games. But Djokovic responded quickly, breaking Troicki’s serve in the second set and tying the match. In the third, Djokovic clinched a 4-0 advantage against Troicki, who tried to recover, but couldn’t overcome his compatriot.

“He (Troicki) was the better player in the first set and a half and I was struggling a lot,” Djokovic said. “He was serving well and the balls were going very fast. There's a big difference playing at night and in the day.”

Djokovic will face Ljubicic in quarterfinals on Thursday.

About the Author

Audrey Nolan has been a prominent writer on daily ATP Tennis Games; sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sport web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.