Britain's Andy Murray suffered yet another defeat on Monday evening as he crashed out in his opening match of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier.
Murray was defeated 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 by Frenchman, Benoit Paire, making him winless in 2024. The loss to Paire follows his first-round exits at the Australian Open and Brisbane International earlier this month.
The three-time Grand Slam winner has now failed to win a match since overcoming Yannick Hanfmann at the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel last October.
Murray got off to a fast and excellent start against Paire as he broke the Frenchman at the first opportunity and raced into a 3-0 lead. The 36-year-old was able to hang on to his serve before he broke Paire again in the eighth game to clinch the opening set in just under 40 minutes.
The Frenchman was able to bounce back right away in the second set as he broke Murray after a lengthy rally to take the first game. Murray managed to break back in the eighth game to draw level at 4-4, before the set soon headed for a tie-break.
After trailing 4-0 at one stage in the tie-break, Murray was able to claw his way back and saved a set point to then be behind 6-5. However, Murray could not hold Paire back for much longer as the Frenchman instantly returned the Brit's serve to take the tie-break.
In the deciding set, Paire struck with an early break to build a 2-0 lead, but Murray responded by breaking back the next game. The Brit then had the chance to move 3-2 in front, but he failed to convert three break points and Paire was able to hold.
Controversy arrived in the eighth game when Murray was serving at 4-3 down and looking to level the set. The 36-year-old was up 40-30 in his service game and thought his opponent's return was out, but the umpire declared the shot to be in.
Murray was unable to challenge the decision due to having no challenges remaining and was visibly frustrated due to the incident occurring at a crucial stage in the match. He spent a short moment voicing his annoyance to the umpire, which prompted boos from the French crowd.
Paire soon converted a break point to move 5-3 in front and moved to have a chance to serve out the match.
The Frenchman had plenty of opportunities to close out the contest in his following service game, but Murray was able to fight off four match points. The Brit even had the chance to extend the match as he had a break point, but Paire was able to produce a save.
Paire eventually got himself over the line and secured the victory as Murray returned the decisive shot into the net to end proceedings. Still upset at the umpire's call in the eighth game of the third set, Murray walked off the court immediately.
The loss continues a poor run form for Murray as he has now lost eight out of his last nine matches. The player has previously hinted that 2024 could be his last year on the court if he fails to rediscover his enjoyment in playing tennis.
Murray's career has been on a downward trajectory in recent years due to a long-term hip injury affecting his performance on the court.
Despite undergoing surgeries for the injury in 2018 and 2019, Murray has still faced large difficulties in feeling comfortable when playing and his recent form suggests it is becoming very difficult for him to operate anywhere close to a competitive level.
Elsewhere, there was success for Britain's Katie Boulter on Monday as she beat Italy's Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-2 in the first round of the Linz Open in Austria. She will now face Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the next round on Wednesday.
