Murray makes no excuses for shock defeat

(GETTY IMAGES)

Andy Murray refused to blame fatigue for his straight-sets defeat yesterday by Robin Haase in the first round of the World Indoor Tournament in Rotterdam.

The Dutchman shone on home soil to claim a 7-5 6-3 victory against the British No 1, who was unable to add to the two ATP titles to his name this year, the Qatar Masters and Marseille Open.

"I wasn't tired physically or mentally, I felt decent," Murray said. "I had trouble with my return game and the court here is much slower than in Marseilles. Therefore it became a different match with rallies of eight or nine shots, while last week they were four or five." The Scot will now turn his attention to the start of the Masters Series next month. He said: "This is just one of those matches you can afford in tournaments like this. It will not affect your ranking like Masters Series or Grand Slams. Now I will have some days off before I start preparing for Dubai and the Indian Wells and Miami stretch."

Haase, whose only other victory over a top-10 player came against Tomas Berdych at the Masters Series event in Canada last year, said. "Luckily it all came together today. Having 8,000 people in your corner certainly helps. Although Murray complained about the crowd, I'm happy for them to shout even louder."