Horror Hallowe'en night for Andy Murray in Paris as he loses to Gilles Simon after failing to serve for match

Andy Murray’s season came to miserable end in Paris as the Scot failed to serve out the match against veteran Frenchman Gilles Simon and ended up losing in three gruelling sets.
Andy Murray was involved in a long three-setter against home favourite Gilles Simon.Andy Murray was involved in a long three-setter against home favourite Gilles Simon.
Andy Murray was involved in a long three-setter against home favourite Gilles Simon.

Murray, ranked 48 in the world, took on Simon in the opening match of the night session at the Rolex Paris Masters looking to get a win that would keep his hopes alive for breaking into the top 32 of the world rankings and being seeded for the Australian Open in January. However, was looked like a comfortable evening turned into a horror show for the 35-year-old. He was unable to serve out the match in the second set, became infuriated by the playful French crowd and went down 4-6 7-5 6-3.

Simon, now 37, will retire after this ATP 1000 series event after a fine tennis career. A counterpuncher in the ilk of Murray, he was second best for much of the contest but the three-time Grand Slam champion Murray could not deliver the knockout blow. The home favourite will now face Taylor Fritz of the US in the second round.

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For Murray, his season is over. He became irate at the home crowd, serving poorly in the third set and making too many errors as he double-faulted on Simon’s first match to cap off an utterly grim evening.

Earlier in the day in Paris, British No 1 Cameron Norrie was a victor over Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, winning 6-2 6-4 to set up a second-round tie against either Croatia’s Borna Coric or France’s Corentin Moutet. Two Brits are in action on Tuesday, with Dan Evans facing American Brandon Nakashima and Jack Draper up against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.