Murray beaten by Mayer in Qatar

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to German Florian Mayer in the Qatar Open second round on Wednesday, his second competitive match since returning from a back injury.

The third-seeded Briton, who beat Mousa Zayed 6-0, 6-0 in the first round, led 3-0 in the second set before Mayer won five games in a row and the world number 40 dominated the decider in Doha to seal victory in just under two hours.

Murray, the world number four, will head to Melbourne for this month's Australian Open having played only two exhibitions and two ATP Tour matches since undergoing back surgery in September.

Image: Andy Murray

Photograph: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters