What they witnessed, though, was a shadow of that player in the final stages of his career as Murray was dismantled 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 by Etcheverry, the 30th seed, in one of his most crushing defeats of the past four years.
One year since the unforgettable sight of Murray dragging himself back from the brink of defeat through two marathon five-set matches to reach the third round, the world No 44 departed Melbourne Park having offered minimal resistance, a defeat that will only elicit further questions about his future. Murray has now lost seven of his past eight matches and he has started the season with a 0-2 record.
Murray opted to collect himself and wait before dissecting his performance rather than immediately walking from the court to his media conference, as has often been the case during his career. Even with some time to digest his performance, he could not explain why he played so poorly and his demeanour was so flat.
"It was a poor performance," he said. "It was very, very flat. It was an amazing crowd out there that were ... I felt like they were trying to pick me up, support and get behind me.
"Usually I would always engage the crowd and get them going and bring some energy into the match.
It was really just a flat performance.
この記事は The Guardian の January 16, 2023 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は The Guardian の January 16, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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