Murray loses to teenager Mensik in long Qatar battle

Britain's Andy Murray was unable to back up his first win of 2024 as he lost to 18-year-old Jakub Mensik in a rollercoaster Qatar Open match.

Murray, 36, ended a run of six defeats by beating Alexandre Muller on Tuesday but lost 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) to 116th-ranked Mensik 24 hours later.

Trailing 5-2 in the decider, the Scot clawed back both breaks as his Czech opponent could not serve out.

However, Mensik reset mentally to win and reach his first ATP quarter-final.

Having reached the final in Doha last year, Murray had a significant number of ranking points to defend and losing in the second round means the former world number one will drop outside the world's top 60 next week.

A troubling start to 2024 saw Murray lose his opening four matches of the new season, which led to questions about how long he planned to keep playing and provoked a defiant response from the three-time Grand Slam champion.

Murray, who turns 37 in May, insisted he would continue to "keep fighting" as he aims to play at a level which he believes he remains "capable of" delivering.

Earning his first win of the year against French world number 75 Muller was a huge relief and a step in the right direction.

However, losing to Mensik - a talented player with a powerful game and considerably bright future, but yet to crack the world's top 100 - is another setback.

Murray's frustrations were clear as he made a sharp exit after a tense contest lasting three hours and 23 minutes - the longest match in the Qatar Open's history.

"I'm just speechless right now, I don't know what to say," said Mensik, who will play Russian top seed Andrey Rublev or French veteran Richard Gasquet on Thursday.

"It was a tough match, [Murray] is a great player and I watched him on the TV winning Wimbledon twice, it is unbelievable at this age he can still compete with the best players of the world."

More to follow.