Kyrgios beats Murray in Hopman Cup

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2016

Andy Murray lost to Nick Kyrgios for the first time as he suffered a straight-set defeat in the Hopman Cup.

Australia’s Kyrgios won 6-4 7-6 (7-5) in the team event, where Britain’s Murray is partnering Heather Watson.

Watson plays Daria Gavrilova later on Wednesday before the four players take part in a mixed doubles rubber.

Both teams won their opening ties in the round-robin event in Perth, which is a warm-up for the Australian Open in Melbourne, starting on 18 January.

World number two Murray, 28, won his first four encounters against the 20-year-old, including victories at the Australian, French and US Opens last year.

Kyrgios, ranked 30th, broke Murray in the third game of the match and although the Scot saved two set points at 4-5, a backhand winner secured the set for the Australian at the third opportunity.

Murray was broken from 40-0 up in the first game of the second set but immediately broke back.

The two-time Grand Slam winner had a set point at 5-4 but Kyrgios saved it with a fierce forehand and went on to close out the match in a tie-break.

Kyrgios and Gavrilova make up Australia Green – one of two squads representing the host country in the eight-team event.

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