Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has shrugged of his straight sets defeat to France' Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the World Tennis Championship in Thursday in Mudabala, UAE on the opening day of the three-day exhibition tournament.
The British world number one went down 7-5, 6-3 to 10th-ranked Tsonga in the tournament, with Tsonga going into the match with an 8-1 career deficit in competitive matches.
According to Sport24, Murray, who has made a return to action in UAE after a three-month injury lay-off, was not disappointed by the defeat, saying that the courts were very fast and did not react quickly enough.
Hailing Tsonga, the Scot said that he was sharper than him and also served very well, adding that the tournament is a good preparation for the upcoming season as a player gets to play against the best in the world.
Murray further said that he has played some of his best tennis in the Middle East.
The Mubabala Championship continues on Friday with world number one Rafael Nadal facing fellow Spaniard David Ferrer who beat Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 6-1 on Thursday, while Tsonga will face world number two Novak Djokovic also on Friday, the report added.