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Murray, a three-time Grand Slam winner who
claimed his first tour-level victory since August in the first
round against Robin Haase, held his own against Rublev in a
tight first set that lasted 62 minutes before the Russian raced
away with the second.
The 33-year-old Briton, who is currently ranked 123rd after
sliding down the rankings due to two hip operations, was pleased
that he had gone toe-to-toe with world number eight Rublev.
"I want to be playing at this level because I learn a lot from a
match like this," Murray said. "The issues and the mistakes that
you make get amplified more at this level...
"There were some good signs. Just when it mattered, I wasn't
good enough. I thought I moved well for the first hour or so. He
is one of the bigger hitters and he wasn't getting too many free
points in the first set. He was having to work hard."
Murray's long-time rival Roger Federer is set to make his return
to the court in Doha next week after two knee operations in the
past 12 months and the Briton has backed the 20-time Grand Slam
winner to hit top gear.
"I am sure he has been training hard and is excited to get back
out there and compete," Murray said. "I am sure in time,
providing that his body is good, that he will play top-level
tennis again because he is that good."
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher
Cushing)
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