Former world number one Andy Murray was made to pay for missed opportunities as he fell to defeat to Andrey Rublev in the second round of the Indian Wells Masters.
Murray had most of the answers to the fifth seed's big hitting in the first set, but even with the crowd roaring him on, the 36-year-old wasted a few chances to close out the opener went down 6-7[3] 1-6 to the Russian in one hour and 48 minutes.
"He had a lot of chances in the first set and I was lucky to win. Had I lost it, it would have been really, really tough," Rublev said during his post-match media duties. "After the first set I felt more confidence and I knew that it would be even tougher for Andy to keep up his consistency."
Both men boasted one win over the other from their previous two ATP Tour meetings, although not since the 2021 Rotterdam Open - a straight sets win for Rublev - had the duo crossed paths.
After nine straight holds in the first set, where Murray wowed the crowd with an astonishing passing cross-court backhand, the Briton established a 40-0 lead on Rublev's serve while returning for the set, but the Russian saved all three break points before also repeating the trick once more.
Rublev blasted a couple of winners past Murray in the tie-breaker to establish a 1-0 lead, although his opening hold in the second set was far from straightforward, as he committed four unforced errors in that game alone.
Doesn't get much better 🙌
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 8, 2024
Absolutely SENSATIONAL pass from @andy_murray against Rublev!#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/tvG6ApoeWc
However, one final hold to 30 would be all that Murray would have left to shout about, as Rublev capitalised on a growing number of double faults and unforced errors from the world number 61, who bowed out with a 0% conversion rate from six break points.
Czech 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka awaits Rublev in the third round, where defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will also compete thanks to a tremendous fightback against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi, whom he overcame 6-7[5] 6-0 6-1.
Jannik Sinner, Alex de Minaur, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced to round three, but 15th seed Karen Khachanov suffered a shock loss to Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild.
In the women's singles tournament, title holder Elena Rybakina was forced to withdraw from the competition due to illness - her replacement Kayla Day lost to fellow lucky loser Nadia Podoroska.
Top seed Iga Swiatek cruised to a 6-3 6-0 beating of Danielle Collins, while reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova registered a bagel of her own in a 6-0 6-2 win over Bernarda Pera, but Ons Jabeur was stunned 4-6 4-6 by wild card Katie Volynets.
Five-time Indian Wells winner Novak Djokovic headlines Saturday's action, taking on Aleksandar Vukic for his first appearance at the Masters event since 2019, while Cameron Norrie and Emma Raducanu face Lorenzo Sonego and Dayana Yastremska respectively.
Ben Knapton
