Andy Murray reflects on Indian Wells defeat to Vasek Pospisil
Sunday 12 March 2017 18:37, UK
Andy Murray was at a loss to explain his Indian Wells Masters defeat to Vasek Pospisil on Saturday, his first to a man outside the top 100 since 2011.
The world number one's struggles in the California desert are well documented but after an impressive run to claim a first title of the year, the Scot headed for the start of the Masters series in good form and with hopes high.
However, he twice threw away being a break up in the opening set, ultimately allowing the Canadian to reel off four straight games to claim the first set.
Once again, like his epic against Philipp Kohlschreiber in Dubai, Murray's serve faltered badly but unlike his quarter-final against the German, Murray was unable to arrest the slide.
A more evenly contested affair followed in the second set but it was to be the world No 129 who prevailed, sealing victory with his third match point after Murray had saved the first two to continue a miserable record of one final and two semi-finals in the desert.
"I don't know exactly why it is, because in practice I normally play pretty well," said Murray.
"Some years I've played well. Some years it just hasn't quite happened for me.
"I don't know exactly why that is. I don't know if it's the conditions. I really don't know why I haven't played my best here over the years."
The Scot had plenty of praise for his opponent in the post-match press conference. Working alongside legendary doubles player Mark Woodforde, who is now his coach, Pospisil emulated the serve-and-volley tactics of Mischa Zverev that accounted for the world number one at the Australian Open.
"He's always played that way, maybe he was doing it better this evening," said Murray
"He was maybe a bit more solid, a bit more consistent from the back of the court. That allows you and gives you more opportunities to come to the net.
"If you're making mistakes in the first three, four shots of the rally, it's not easy to come in on the correct ball. When you're a little bit more solid, you can be patient and wait for the right shot to come in on."
You can follow the Indian Wells action on Sky Sports 3 from 6pm on Sunday and throughout the week
