Magical Murray downs Fed

Murray: Commanding performance

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Andy Murray produced one of the best performances of his career to beat world number one Roger Federer in Dubai.

The young Scot had been handed a daunting first-round draw, but he beat the reigning champion 6-7 6-3 6-4 in a little under two hours.

Of 27 previous matches at this event, Federer had won 25, taking the title four times in the last five years.

But after he edged the first set 8-6 in a tense tie-break, mistakes began to creep into Federer's game as Murray turned up the heat.

The British number one did not face a break point in the entire match, while it was he who claimed the decisive breaks of serve in the fifth game of the second and third sets.

Back on court

Federer was back in action after taking a month-long break since his surprise defeat to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

Murray, meanwhile, was appearing in his fifth event of the season having alternated between winning titles and suffering first-round exits in the previous four.

In order to prolong that sequence he would have to condemn Federer to back-to-back defeats for the first time in almost five years.

The early stages suggested it could be an epic struggle, but Federer's lack of match practice began to show as his game became increasingly erratic.

Murray's defensive play was outstanding throughout and when he went for his shots he showed much greater consistency than the champion.

After winning the first break point of the match for a 3-2 lead in the second set, Murray followed it up with a love service game and suddenly he was in the ascendancy.

He served out the set in comfort before missing two break points in the opening game of the third set.

Federer crumbles

Murray did not have too much longer to wait for his match-winning opportunity, however, as Federer crumbled in the fifth game, losing it to love.

A disputed line-call could have affected Murray's concentration as Federer correctly challenged what would have been a double fault at 0-40, but the Scot retained his focus to force another error from his opponent and forge ahead.

Another confident service game consolidated the break and although Federer won his next two games on serve to make Murray serve for the match, the 20-year-old never appeared under pressure.

At 5-4 Murray came up with another superb service game, holding to love to earn a second win in three career meetings with Federer and book a second-round date with Fernando Verdasco.