Andy Murray beaten in Abu Dhabi season opener
Thursday 31 October 2019 13:46, UK
Andy Murray started his new season with a surprise 7-6 6-4 defeat to David Goffin in the semi-finals of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
After losing the opening set at the year-ending exhibition event, world No 1 Murray, twice winner of the tournament, recovered to go 3-2 up in the second set.
But his Belgian opponent broke back twice and held serve to progress to the final.
Goffin will face Rafael Nadal in Saturday's final, with Murray, who lost just nine matches in his entire 2016 season, up against Milos Raonic in the third/fourth place match after the Canadian was beaten 6-1 3-6 6-3 by Nadal in the second semi-final.
The Spaniard broke Raonic on his first serve and then continued to dominate, comfortably securing the first set.
Raonic recovered in the second set, which went with serve until he broke for a 4-2 lead before he sealed it with an ace.
A second victory over Nadal in Abu Dhabi was in now sight for Raonic but his experienced opponent held his nerve to break Raonic first in the third set to take a 3-1 lead, eventually closing out the match to book his place in the final.
Murray ended the year at the top of the men's rankings for the first time having won titles including Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics and the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Because the Abu Dhabi tournament is classed as an exhibition event, the 29-year-old will carry his 24-match winning streak into the Qatar Open in Doha as he continues his preparations for next month's Australian Open title, where he will be looking for his first success in the Grand Slam event in Melbourne.
