Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Matt Majendie

Andy Murray beaten in first game of 2023 season as Seb Korda claims Australian Open warm-up win

Andy Murray’s hopes of a bright start to his 2023 season were ended in straight sets by Seb Korda at the Adelaide International on Tuesday.

Murray, who climbed back into the world’s top 50 last season, was broken early in the opening set to the American, son of former Australian Open champion Petr.

But the former world No1 broke back to force a tiebreak, which Korda won for the loss of just three points.

From there, the American, ranked 33rd in the world, dominated the contest for a 7-6, 6-3 victory.

Murray had cut a disconsolate figure when he drew his 2022 season to a close with a loss to Gilles Simon. There were glimpses of his old self against Korda in the first of his warm-up matches ahead of the Australian Open later this month.

Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic showed little ring rust on his competitive singles return on Australian soil a year on from having been deported from the country amid its Covid rules.

Djokovic, who received rapturous applause as he emerged on court, made light work of Frenchman Constantin Lestienne in a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Following the victory, the Serbian said: “For the first match, I can’t complain, I played very well. Thank you all for coming out today and thank you for giving me the welcome that I could only wish for.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.