China crisis as Murray falls to friendly fire

Andy Murray's faint hopes of reaching the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai were all but extinguished last night as he slid to an angst-ridden defeat to close friend Novak Djokovic.

Having captured the first set with controlled tennis that bordered on the impeccable at times, Murray was unable to keep Djokovic subdued and eventually stumbled to a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 defeat.

If missing the trip to China was always the likeliest scenario, a place in the world's top 16 at the age of 19 would have been ample compensation, though only two ranking events remain in 2006 for Murray to achieve that goal.

What will hurt most in the immediate aftermath of this defeat will be that it came against the Scot's closest friend on the tour.

Djokovic is precisely one week younger than Murray. The pair grew up together in the juniors and were doubles partners in this year's Australian Open.

They may even become Davis Cup team-mates in the future if Djokovic's interest in taking British citizenship hardens into a formal application.

If their games are different — Djokovic is a consistent striker of the ball and a natural aggressor, Murray a counterattacker by instinct and capable of outrageous shot-making — they are similarly imbued with a determination to succeed.

This was their first meeting since the junior scene and it mattered. Bragging rights over your best mate on tour have a price beyond prize-money and ranking points.

Lesser players than Djokovic would have crumbled under Murray's onslaught which won him five successive games at the end of the first set.

At that point, it seemed Murray was drawing inspiration from the courtside presence of David Beck-ham, who may have lost the England football captaincy and a starting role at Real Madrid but not the aura that surrounds him.

It was as if the post-Davis Cup lethargy that Murray carried with him to Bangkok and Tokyo recently had been left behind in the Far East.

His stride was purposeful, his shots true and precise.

Slowly, however, Djokovic worked his way into the match. He ground his way through rallies just long enough that the sheen began to disappear from Murray's game.

With it went his calmness. He began to berate himself in fury and with every anguished cry, his game diminished further until defeat became inevitable.

"I don't feel like he won this match, it's more like I gave it to him," said Murray, who hinted that he might sit out the rest of the year.

"I'm not sure what's to gain for the next couple of tourmaments," he added. "My body feels OK but mentally I'm struggling a bit. This is my 26th event this year and I'm not used to playing at this high level for so long."