Andy Murray smashes racket twice as Brit frustrated after Paris Masters loss
Andy Murray smashed his racket twice on the court just moments after crashing out of the Paris Masters following his defeat to Alex de Minaur on Monday. The British tennis star struggled to contain his frustration after a narrow defeat at the hands of the Australian and took his rage out on his equipment, earning the former world No 1 boos from the crowd in France.
The 36-year-old was in action against 13th seed De Minaur, who has become something of a nemesis for the Brit as he has failed to win any of their previous five meetings.
And despite a nailbiting encounter in the first round in Paris, it was Murray who ended up on the losing side again after a thrilling 6-7 (5), 6-4, 5-7 result.
With the court at his mercy on De Minaur’s match point, Murray watched his forehand effort clip the net and cruelly land on his side of the court – handing a well-earned victory to his 24-year-old opponent.
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But before they could shake hands at the net, Murray was incandescent and unleashed two strikes to the ground, destroying his racket frame in the process.
Despite his anger only seconds before, he shook the hand of his opponent at the net, who later celebrated with an emphatic roar to the crowd.
The mangled remains of the racket spoke volumes of just how much Murray wanted to end his 100 per cent losing record against De Minaur and progress to the next round. His last defeat against the world No 13 came in September, with De Minaur again prevailing with a three-set victory at the China Open.
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It means Murray has only won two out of his last seven matches, with the current world No 40 set for a disappointing end to 2023 after fighting his way back into the top 50.
As for De Minaur, he becomes the first player to beat Murray in all of his six matches against him – a feat none of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal managed in their careers.
Murray will now ponder his next tournament as the Scot could play at the Moselle Open in Metz or travel to Bulgaria to take part in the Sofia Open.
He will then be back in action for his country as Great Britain navigate their Davis Cup quarter-final against Serbia on November 23 in Malaga.
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