Murray falls to Novak at first hurdle in Japan

TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) British number one Andy Murray slumped to a 6-3 7-6 defeat to big-hitting Czech Jiri Novak in his opening match at the Japan Open today.

The 19-year-old Scot, who received a first-round bye, clawed his way back into the second set from 4-1 down but managed to win just one point in a one-sided tiebreak as Novak closed in style.

It was the 10th time this year Murray has tripped up at the first hurdle and came on the heels of his first-round defeat by compatriot Tim Henman in Bangkok last week.

''Every single young player goes through a patch where he's not playing well,'' shrugged the fourth-seeded Murray, who was in the same half of the draw as world number one Roger Federer.

''You can't expect to get to the semi-finals every week -- unless you're Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. They are the only two who can do it. I wasn't looking that far ahead.'' The fiery Scot also paid tribute to Henman and Novak following his two losses in Asia.

''It's not like I lost to bad players,'' said Murray. ''Henman has been at the top of the game for a long time. Novak was number five in the world (in 2002).

''I did well to fight back into the match but unfortunately I couldn't quite turn it around.'' Defending Tokyo champion Wesley Moodie beat Austria's Stefan Koubek 6-3 6-4 to put the South African on course for a third-round meeting with Federer.

The Swiss, making his first appearance in Japan this week, was playing Serbian qualifier Viktor Troicki later on Wednesday in his opening match at the 5,000 tournament.

Reuters PM DB1234