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'Disaster': Tennis world gobsmacked by Andy Murray meltdown

Andy Murray (pictured left) getting angry and (pictured right) after his loss in the Paris Masters.
Andy Murray (pictured left) failed to convert seven match points in his loss in the first round of the Paris Masters. (Images: Getty Images/ @TennisTV)

Andy Murray suffered a horror final set after losing seven match points to fall in the first round of the Paris Masters to lucky loser Dominik Koepfer.

The rollercoaster match, which had the crowd on their feet, could have been over but Koepfer was unable to secure victory when he served for the match in the second set.

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However, 90 minutes later he secured a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (9-7) win over Murray.

Wildcard Murray was let down by his serve - nine double faults and landing only 49 per cent of his first serves - and 36 unforced errors.

But the Scot suffered multiple lapses on match points as he attempted to secure victory seven times to no avail.

To Koepfer's credit, he showed incredible steel when facing match point seven times.

Fans were left gutted at Murray's demise, despite being so close to advancing in the thriller.

Andy Murray's ranking boost fail

Ranked 144th in the world, Murray needed a good result at the ATP Masters 1000 event to improve his ranking and get easier draws next season.

However, after a strong showing at Indian Wells and the European Open, Murray failed to convert his decent form into results in Paris.

Meanwhile, Britain's Cameron Norrie remained in contention for one of the two remaining ATP Finals spots by cruising past Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-2, 6-1.

The 10th-seeded Norrie - who won the title in Indian Wells last month - secured his 100th tour-level victory, 49 of which have come this year.

Andy Murray (pictured) looks frustrated during his single match against Dominik Koepfer.
Andy Murray (pictured) looks on during his single match against Dominik Koepfer of Germany during day one of the Rolex Paris Masters at AccorHotels Arena on November 01, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) (Aurelien Meunier via Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini have already qualified for the ATP Finals.

Norrie, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz and Felix Auger-Aliassime are contending to make the eight-player field.

"It's cool to have this added pressure of playing for an extra event at the end of the year," Norrie, who has never been to the elite finals, said.

Among the oher players to reaching the second round in Paris were Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno-Busta and young guns Sebastian Korda of the United States and Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

with AAP

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