Andy Murray suffers defeat to Alex De Minaur in first round of China Open

Andy Murray failed to capitalise on three match points as he fell to a first-round defeat to Alex De Minaur at the China Open in Beijing.

The 24-year-old Australian battled his way to a 6-3 5-7 7-6 (8-6) victory over the former world No 1 in a fifth career meeting between the pair, with De Minaur having won all five including in the first round at Queen's earlier this year.

He took the first set courtesy of a single break in the second game of the match, but a succession of backhand errors in the second set gave Murray the chance to level the match.

• Stream all your favourite sports with NOW
• Emma Raducanu planning for 2024 return as she recovers from operations
• Tim Henman: Novak Djokovic to win 'plenty more' majors | He still wants to get better

The two-time Wimbledon champion showed his frustration and he was issued with a code violation for smashing his racket on the ground after allowing his opponent to break serve, but he recovered his composure to level at one set all.

Murray had two match points at 5-2 up in the deciding set, but De Minaur held serve before breaking the 36-year-old in the next game. That eventually set up a tie-break, where the Australian raced into a 5-2 advantage.

Murray hit back with four straight points to set up his third match point, only to drop both of his serves and fall to defeat at the hands of De Minaur once again.