Andy Murray suffers defeat to Alex De Minaur in first round of China Open

Andy Murray failed to convert three match points as he lost in the first round to Alex De Minaur at the China Open in Beijing.

The 24-year-old Australian battled his way to a 6-3 5-7 7-6 (8-6) victory over the former world number 1 in a fifth meeting between the pair, with De Minaur winning all five, including in the first round at Queen’s earlier this year.

He took the first set thanks to a single break in the second game of the match, but a succession of backhand errors in the second set gave Murray the chance to level the match.

The two-time Wimbledon champion showed his frustration and was given a code violation for slamming his racket on the ground after allowing his opponent to break serve, but he recovered his composure to level everything on one set .

Murray had two match points at a 5-2 lead in the deciding set, but De Minaur held serve before beating the 36-year-old in the next game. That eventually led to a tie-break, in which the Australian took a 5-2 lead.

Murray hit back with four straight points to set up his third match point, but he dropped both his serves and was defeated again at the hands of De Minaur.