Andy Murray loses at Indian Wells: Why did his game desert him in the desert?

The Scotsman lost in a third-set tie-break after he had seemingly recovered from losing the opening set. Delbonis forced the 6-4 4-6 7-6 win against a toiling British No 1 who had led 4-1 in the final set. Murray helped Great Britain to a 3-1 win over Japan in the Davis Cup just over a week ago, but had also conceded a lead against Kei Nishikori from two sets up.

After managing to win in five sets, he was unable to see off Delbonis' fightback. The Argentine once beat Roger Federer three years ago in Hamburg, and has now added Murray to his list of conquests. He will face Gael Monfils in the fourth round.

Difficult to fathom really, but he has his own opinion after exchanging a few verbals with the umpire amid some searing heat at the Masters tournament.

"I changed stringing my racquets like four or five pounds tighter than I was at the Davis Cup, which is significant. I have tried many different things. Really the tightest I have strung throughout the whole year would be at this event, and I still feel like I can't really go for my shots.

"I feel like when I do, I make mistakes. But even you look in the tie-break I missed a couple of backhands long, and then also a couple of balls in the bottom of the net. I really don't know."

Does not sound like it. He has only gone beyond the last four of the event once seven years ago when he lost the 2009 final to Rafael Nadal.

"I think it's just the conditions here I have just struggled with throughout my career. I have never really felt that I played my best tennis here. I have tried and had many different preparations where I've got here early and spent a lot of time on the courts, and sometimes I arrive later, like this time from Davis Cup. Obviously it takes time to get used to new conditions regardless of where it is, but I have just never really found a way to get comfortable here throughout my career. It's a shame."

Probably not. Sometimes players just don't like certain venues, and the California desert outpost obviously does not sit well with Murray. What you can say is that his defeat to a figure like Delbonis is still a major disappointment given his obvious skill set as the world number two.

If he had lost to a figure higher in the rankings, you could have accepted it. Especially after his terrific win over world number six Kei Nishikori at the Davis Cup. Djokovic struggled with the conditions a night before yet still managed to come through in three sets after failing to turn up against world number 149 American Bjorn Fratangelo early on before dominating the final two sets. .

Unlike Murray, Djokovic found a way to win in three sets. Murray seemed irritable throughout his defeat in the heat, and there may be some wisdom in the world of Djokovic's father Srdjan Djokovic the other day when he said: "If he learns to calm down, he will have a far bigger career than he has by now. I would love for Murray to achieve his potential.” He did not calm down against Delbonis and lost.