TENNIS:Andy Murray was beaten in straight sets by Janko Tipsarevic in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

Murray, the world number three, looked off his game as he fell to a 6-3, 6-4 loss against Tipsarevic as the Serbian progressed to the semi-finals with the victory, where he will face Spain’s world number 11 Nicolas Almagro, who came in as a late replacement following the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal due to a stomach virus.

The match started off fairly evenly and continued on serve until Murray was broken in the fourth game by Tipsarevic, who went on to take the first set.

Murray opened the second with an ace, but Tipsarevic hit back to pile on the pressure by claiming an immediate break of serve. Tipsarevic said: “I am happy with my game. I know it’s an exhibition match but it’s not every day you get to play a grand slam champion and an Olympic gold medal winner.”