• Murray to open new season against Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela • Top seed says Dimitrov was likely to beat him in second round in 2016
Andy Murray said he lost the respect of new emerging star Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek’s defeat in the second round of the US Open last year.
Murray defeated Tsitsipas, who has been dubbed a young John McEnroe, in straight sets on Arthur Ashe stadium to reach the quarter-finals. The big-serving Canadian teenager didn’t hold serve once as he conceded 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, his lowest grand slam ranking, and Murray was unimpressed by the 19-year-old’s raw power.
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“I mean, it was a tough match, to lose a first match in straight sets, but it wasn’t a one-sided match,” Murray said. “He made it tough.
“I lost a little bit of respect for him after that, he was kind of saying things afterwards. He was critical of me, which I wasn’t really happy about. “I don’t speak a lot of Greek but there were some things he said in the press afterwards that I didn’t really like.
“I don’t take anything personal.”
Murray will be taking on Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, a 22-year-old wildcard entry from Aruba ranked 147, in the first round at Indian Wells on Wednesday.