Former China Open champion Andy Murray fell at the first hurdle of this year's tournament with a three-set defeat to Australia's Alex de Minaur on Thursday.
The three-time major winner dug deep to force a decider after losing the first set, but De Minaur eventually came through 6-3 5-7 7-6[6] in a gruelling two-hour and 51-minute battle, taking a leaf out of Murray's book by saving three match points to prevail.
Despite saving three break points in his first service game, Murray was eventually outgunned and fell 3-0 down, before going for power on a cross-court forehand and netting to hand De Minaur the opener.
The Australian hit 10 winners in the first set compared to a paltry three for Murray, who went 4-2 up in the second as De Minaur overcooked a backhand before smashing his racquet on the court after ceding a break point in his next game, allowing De Minaur to get the contest back on serve.
However, while serving to force a tie-breaker, De Minaur was undone by a passing forehand at the net from Murray, who was seemingly en route to the second round after establishing a 5-2 lead in the final set.
The 36-year-old then suffered a calamitous collapse, though, missing two match points on the De Minaur serve before being broken to 15, and Murray missed a third chance to close out the contest at 6-5 in the tie-breaker.
That squandered opportunity would prove fatal, as De Minaur earned back the mini-break and took his first match point on a shanked Murray forehand - a disappointing way to end a gripping contest.
De Minaur - who remains perfect against Murray with five wins from five meetings on the ATP Tour - will meet second seed Daniil Medvedev or Tommy Paul in the second round, while Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie commence their bids for glory on Friday, facing Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev respectively.
Ben Knapton
