Yesterday was a day to forget to British tennis, as both Murray brothers crashed out in their opening matches.
I had always believed Andy’s chances of beating Mario Ancic to be slim after his lacklustre American hardcourt season so far. The Croatian has been in fantastic form since making his comeback from glandular fever, and it was not a huge shock to see him come through 6-2 2-6 7-6.
Murray was apathy itself in the first set and it was painful to watch such a talented player descend into childish sulking. However one thing Murray will never lose is his will to win, and despite all the mutterings under his breath, the Scot stepped up his game to take the second set. Unfortunately he levelled off again in the third set, and whilst he made a fight of it, Ancic deserved the win that came his way.
It was no better for older brother Jamie, who’s first round loss with Max Mirnyi comes as a much greater surprise, given that they have been in excellent form of late, notching up two wins over the Bryan brothers. The pair went out rather tamely to Frenchmen Marc Gicqeul and Fabrice Santoro 6-4 6-4, a team unlikely to progress far in the tournament.
Maybe now that Jamie has some time off he might be able to find a barbers to cut his ever inflating hair!