Andy Murray’s string of disappointing performances continued with a first-round loss to Tomas Machac at the Open 13 Provence on Tuesday. The 36-year-old Scotsman faced a 7-5, 6-4 defeat against Czech player Machac in Marseille, marking his sixth consecutive loss since October and securing only one victory in his last 10 matches.

Despite contemplating retirement, Murray vehemently rejected suggestions that he might be compromising his legacy by continuing to play. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), he stated, “Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people, and my mind works differently. I won’t quit.”

While Murray’s performance against the up-and-coming 23-year-old Machac, ranked 66th, was not subpar, there were still critical lapses. After overcoming an early break and gaining momentum late in the first set, Murray found himself broken by Machac at 5-5. The Czech then took an early lead in the second set, and Murray was unable to recover, sealing his defeat in the tournament.