Murray exits Dubai with a whimper

Andy Murray has exited the 2010 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, after losing 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 to Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.

It was a lacklustre performance from the Scot, who looked lethargic and disinterested from the outset. The Serb wasted no time in taking advantage of Murray's generosity, breaking early in the first set and maintaining his lead until 5-4. It was at this point that the World Number 4 appeared to get his act together. For the first time in the match, Murray displayed sustained quality and earned himself the break to even the score. Joy was short lived for Murray fans, however. The Scot soon reverted to his earlier form, tamely surrendering the opening set in the tiebreaker.

There was more purpose to Murray's play at the start of the 2nd set, as he broke the Serb immediately. The Scot looked to have discovered some of the form that carried him to the Australian Open final. However, Tipsarevic maintained his level and kept the set competitive. Having blown two set points at 5-3*, Murray finally closed it out a game later with the aid of his oftentimes erratic first serve.

It was back to the form of the opening set at the start of 3rd, unfortunately for British fans. Murray again looked disinterested, throwing in one careless error after another to hand Tipsarevic an early break. The Serb was screaming and wailing like he was competing in the final of a major, while Murray had the look of a man who wanted to be elsewhere. It was a mostly passionless display from a usually fiery Scot. He did put up some resistance in an epic 5th game, carving out several breakpoints, before breaking at 5-3 to get back on serve. As was typical of today's display, however, the Scot threw in a number of errors to hand Tipsarevic the break and the match.

It is always disappointing to lose, but I did not have much expectation from the tournament. I am coming from a big break after the Australian Open and was not as prepared as I should have been for the tournament. I was still trying out things on the court, rather than playing my normal game.