Tennis Betfacts / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 09 January 2008 / Leave a comment

Murray feels the effects of the heat (and a large lunch) against Safin at the Kooyong Classic

Andy Murray was matched at a low of [1.15] early on in his match against Marat Safin in the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament, but lost in straight sets - 6-1 and 6-4.

Murray blamed jetlag and an earlier start time than expected on his defeat and admitted to feeling a bit sick before the start:

"I had a run at the track this morning and our match was moved up," he stated.

"I felt like a couple of chicken sandwiches were ready to come up. I'm glad there were not that many long rallies!

This does not mean Murray is out of the tournament as it is played in a round-robin format but the defeat has hardly helped the Scot's preparation for the Australian Open which starts next week. Despite the loss, Murray's price for Melbourne success remains the same on Betfair and he is still available at odds of [20].

Murray's conqueror Safin, who was matched at a high of [5.0] to beat the British number one, is available at odds of [100.0 to replicate his 2005 win at the Australian Open.

Latest odds: [1.69] Roger Federer, [13.5] Novak Djokovic, [14.5] Rafael Nadal, [16.5] David Nalbandian, [20.0] Andy Murray, [42.0] Andy Roddick, [50.0] Lleyton Hewitt.

Tags: Andy Murray defeat, Australian Open, Kooyong Classic, tennis betting