Murray knocks out Federer in Dubai first round

World number one Roger Federer suffered his first opening-round defeat since 2004 when he lost 6-7 6-3 6-4 to unseeded Briton Andy Murray in the Dubai Championships yesterday.

The 12-times grand slam champion was last beaten in the first round of a tournament at the Cincinnati Masters in August 2004.

"Any time you get to play against someone like that it's just an honour to be on the same court," Murray said after recording his second career victory over Federer.

"But each time I've played him I've stepped up my game. I'd been serving well and I don't think he had a break point the whole match."

The result condemned Federer to back-to-back defeats, after he was also beaten by Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open.