Andy Murray was knocked out of the Miami Open in a dramatic 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-5) last-32 defeat by Tomas Machac. The Briton, 36, converted his ninth break point to take a 6-5 lead in the opening set before serving out to love.
But Machac hit back to win the second set and then clinched the match in a third-set tie-break, having previously been broken when serving to progress. Murray received treatment on an ankle injury late in the third set and was also agitated by movement in the crowd.
Murray’s match against 23-year-old Czech Republic player Machac lasted three hours and 27 minutes and saw him save match point to force a tie-break.
After the Briton secured the opening set, Machac broke Murray for the first time at 6-5 in the second set – which was interrupted by a brief rain delay – to draw level. But Murray’s frustration grew with people in the crowd moving and umpire Carlos Bernardes at the end of that set.
In response to an unheard reply from Bernardes to Murray’s “useless, useless” comment, the Scot responded: “What are you talking about? It’s quite obvious when people are standing up between every single point.”
Machac raced into a 3-0 lead in the decider, but Murray retrieved a break and saved match point when serving to stay in the match before succumbing to defeat when he lost the tie-break. He had worryingly gone down with an ankle injury at the net after hitting the winner to level at 5-5 in the third set.
He received treatment from the physio and managed to continue but could not overcome a resolute Machac, who is ranked two places lower than 58th-placed Murray.
Source: BBC Sports
