A lacklustre Andy Murray was soundly beaten by Alex de Minaur, 6-1 6-3, in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday.
His first match on clay in 2023, Murray never got going in the principality and hit a mammoth 26 unforced errors on Court Rainier III.
De Minaur was efficient in his work, but three-time Grand Slam winner Murray produced a very below-par performance, at one point seemingly apologising to the crowd for a poor drop-shot, with a comeback so typical of Murray this season never on the cards here. Murray is yet to confirm when he will next be in action. It could be as early as next week in Barcelona or Munich, with the next Masters 1000 event in Madrid in two weeks’ time.
Earlier on Monday, British No 1 Cameron Norrie lost in straight-sets to Francisco Cerundolo but Jack Draper came through his match against Sebastian Baez.
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