Former World Number one Andy Murray has lost his first match of 2022 with a defeat to Facundo Bagnis in Australia.
The Scot lost to the world number 76 in the first round of the Melbourne Summer Series on Tuesday.
Despite a strong end to 2021 Murray fell 6-3 5-7 6-3 in an error strewn display that leaves him plenty of work to do to be ready for the Australian Open later this month.
Murray has accepted a wild-card into the tournament, two years after indicating his appearance at the major was likely to be his last due to impending hip surgery.
And the former double Wimbledon and Olympic champion raised hopes after reaching the final of an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi in December, where he was beaten by Andrey Rublev.
But he was left slamming his racket into his bench in frustration midway through the deciding set in Melbourne.
Bagnis, who has never gone beyond the third round of a grand slam tournament, took the first set but Murray responded well with a dominant second to level matters.
However, Murray was afflicted by a poor ball toss and dreadful second-serve percentage, enabling Bagnis to grab the crucial break in the fifth game of the final set before serving out to take the match.
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