Murray stuns Federer again

Briton hands World No.1 his 1st opening round defeat in 3½ yrs

DUBAI: Andy Murray upset Roger federer in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday, handing the top ranked Swiss his second loss in a row.

Murray rallied to win 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4. It was Federer’s first match since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January, and his first opening round defeat in 3½ years.

Federer, who won the Dubai tournament four times in the last five years, had not lost in the first round of a tournament since his defeat to Dominik Hrbaty in the Cincinnati Masters in August, 2004.

Last year, Federer lost his opening match at the Pacific Life Open to Guillermo Canas, after getting a bye into the second round.

“Anytime you get to play someone like Roger it is an honour to be on the same court as him,” he said. “Each time I play him I step my game up and play pretty well and I played really well today and served great — which was really the key.

“Sometimes he’s going to play some unbelievable shots and you are not going to have a chance against him — and I had to refocus at start of the second set.”

It was Murray’s second career victory over Federer, after a second round win in Cincinnati in August, 2006.