Andy Murray crashes out of Australian Open first round in straight sets

Long before Andy Murray and Tomás Martín Etcheverry appeared inside Kia Arena, line after line of spectators wrapped around the stadium in anticipation of seeing an all-time great on a stage that he has achieved so much on.

What they witnessed, though, was a sad shadow of that player in the final stages of his career. On Monday evening, Murray suffered a crushing loss in the first round of the Australian Open as he was dismantled 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 by Etcheverry, the 30th seed.

One year on from the unforgettable sight of Murray dragging himself back from the brink of defeat through two marathon five set matches to reach the first round, Murray departed with minimal resistance, a defeat that will only elicit further questions about his future. Murray has now lost seven of his last eight matches and he has started the season with a 0-2 record.

Etcheverry was one of the most improved players on the tour last year and his rise from outside of the top 80 to his current ranking of No 30 was driven by his big serve and heavy forehand. While he looked to use those weapons from the beginning, constantly aiming to take the first strike and dominate from inside the baseline, Murray was reduced to grinding and retrieving from behind the baseline, with little control over the exchanges.

The opening game set the tone as, after a tough, gruelling service game, Murray dropped his serve. Although he eventually broke back, Murray threw in another poor service game at 4-4, missing first serves and watching forehands fly past him as Etcheverry took the initiative at a decisive moment.

Any hope of a gritty response from Murray quickly faded. As the match endured, Murray’s level only continued to drop. Unforced errors flowed freely from Murray’s racket, his strokes dropped short and he offered minimal resistance as the Argentine continued to dominate every exchange.

Even more dispiriting than his desperate level of play, though, was how he comported himself throughout. There was no fire or visible fight. There was not even any rage. As the match quickly fell away from him, the 36-year-old maintained a passive, neutral expression throughout, as if he had already accepted his fate.

Although he ended last season in an extremely difficult position, the losses piling up as he admitted that he was not enjoying himself, in the days before this tournament Murray had appeared to be in a much better headspace. Murray said that he had identified his serve as the source of many of his problems and he was satisfied with the hard work he had undertaken to improve it in the off-season.

In the end, those efforts came to nothing. That same serve was completely picked apart by an average returner and he was broken six times in total. After a final forehand crashed into the net, Murray packed his bag and departed the court with his head bowed. It was only as he reached the court’s entrance that Murray paused before saluting all corners of the crowd, perhaps for the final time in Australia.