Andy Murray knocked out of Australian Open by Taro Daniel

Andy Murray has been knocked out of the Australian Open after being beaten by Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel.

Murray lost 6-4 6-4 6-4 in Melbourne as Daniel took his chances to defeat the former finalist in two hours and 48 minutes.

The Scot had won a five-set thriller against Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round and had been hopeful of making a deep run into the competition three years after his last appearance.

However, the gruelling test against Basilashvili may have had an effect as Murray put in a subdued performance against a player ranked 120th in the world. For 28-year-old Daniel, the victory puts him in the third round of a major for the first time.

Speaking at his post-match media conference, Murray admitted the defeat was hard to take.

“I’m really, really disappointed. Very frustrated. A tough loss for me that’s for sure.”

The 34-year-old also raised questions about his future when asked if he planned to return to the tournament next year.

Murray said: “I mean, yeah. But not if I do what I did tonight too often this season.

“This is a really important year for me for a number of reasons and I want to perform well in the big events. For me, tonight is not good enough in that respect.

“Making second rounds of slams is not something I find particularly motivating. I want to be doing better than that. It depends on how I get on this year results wise and how I perform in the big events.”