• What the Deuce

Murray must not lose sight of the bigger picture

Andy Murray should not lose sight of the bigger picture © Getty Images

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For the second time in as many years, Andy Murray fell at the first hurdle in Indian Wells.

But while his defeat to world No. 143 Donald Young last year was a real cause for concern, Murray's latest defeat to world No. 92 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez can simply be put down as a bad day at the office.

Admittedly it is slightly concerning that Murray couldn't put his finger on just what went wrong, but there is no reason to press the panic button just yet.

Back-to-back defeats to Young and Alex Bogomolov Jnr last year was arguably Murray's lowest moment in recent memory. While defeat to Garcia-Lopez was an unwelcome surprise, Murray can be happy that his game is in good shape.

It was just one of those days - one-time world No. 23 Garcia-Lopez was in inspired form, while Murray simply could not find his range. A quick debrief with coach Ivan Lendl and his team and the Scot can forget about it and move on.

Twelve months ago, Murray looked a shadow of the player that had stormed to the Australian Open final. His serve was a mess, he looked mentally fragile, lacked the guidance of a full-time coach and we wondered just how long it would take to climb out of his slump.

With so few points to defend this spring, the Dubai tournament and Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami offered Murray an opportunity to test drive his game.

While an early exit in California means Murray misses out on the chance to get a decent run of matches under his belt ahead of the Miami Masters which begins on March 21, it is not the end of the world.

What matters now is Murray bounces back. After Wimbledon and Queen's, the Sony Ericsson Open is Murray's home event. The Scot is based in Miami for a large part of the year, and lives just ten minutes from Crandon Park.

Murray has been speaking recently of his new, mature approach. After last year's Australian Open he looked low on confidence, devoid of ideas, and volatile. While he won't be happy with his latest defeat - his first to a player ranked outside the top ten since August last year - there is no need to go back to the drawing board. There were no tantrums, no signs of a player who lacked belief in his game.

Most notably in his victory over Novak Djokovic, Murray showed real signs of progress in Dubai, and should not lose sight of the bigger picture after one disappointing result.

Back-to-back defeats last year was a real case of spring fever. Dusting himself off and putting in a decent shift in Miami will show just how far Murray has come.

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