Fuming Andy Murray mangles tennis racket in almighty rage after extending unwanted record in gruelling defeat
ANDY MURRAY smashed his racket in rage as he crashed out of his latest tournament.
The battling Brit got into his latest marathon match at the Swiss Indoors ATP 500 event in Basel.
He took the gruelling first set against Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry on a tie-break after 77 minutes.
And the world No40 looked on course to claim his best win by ranking since May and record back-to-back victories, something he has not managed since August.
But the 24-year-old world No32 battled back to win 6-7 6-3 6-2 after three hours on court.
And Murray could not contain his obvious frustration as the match slipped away from him.
The British tennis legend, 36, lashed out as he repeatedly slammed his frame into the court in his latest angry outburst.
Murray mangled a racket in his first-round defeat at the China Open to Alex De Minaur before seeing three match points come and go.
He was also visibly struggling with the physicality of the match, bending over from the middle of the second set as the clock hit two hours.
Murray’s defeat is his fourth in five matches after early exits in Zhuhai, Beijing and Shanghai.
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His only win in this torrid run came on Monday, when he needed 84 minutes to win the first set against Yannick Hanfmann.
And the Etcheverry loss – a reversal of their result in Indian Wells this season – denied Murray the chance to reach his first ATP quarter-final since Doha in February.
To make matters worse, Murray stays behind British No2 Dan Evans in the rankings despite the Brummie pulling out of his first-round clash with Frances Tiafoe in Vienna due to a calf injury that could end his season.
With Cameron Norrie also struggling for form, it means the Great Britain Davis Cup team are in dire straits ahead of facing Novak Djokovic’s Serbia in November.