Murray's Paris exit marks season's end
Andy Murray ends the year as British number one
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Thursday, 02, Nov 2006 09:31
Andy Murray ended his season with a miserable straight sets defeat to Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty in the third round of the Paris Masters.
The British number one fought hard to take the first set to a tie-break but, as he battled with a throat infection, his game disintegrated in the second as he went down 7-6 (8/6) 6-0.
A win against his 17th-seeded would have seen the young Scot into his third ATP Tour quarter final of the year, but in spite of his higher ranking he couldn't find the shots to overcome a professional Hrbaty display.
After losing the opening three games, Murray clawed his way back into the first set with a typically-aggressive run of form.
He dominated the early tie-break exchanges and led 5-3 at one point, only for Hrbaty to force his way back into a dominant position and win 8-6.
The second set saw a lethargic Murray brushed aside in just 20 minutes as the antibiotic medication for his illness took its toll and he finished in abject style.
Hrbaty now goes through to face defending champion Tomas Berdych in the last eight.