Andy Murray was stunned by Gilles Simon in the first round of the Paris Masters.
The 35-year-old had the upper hand to begin the evening and looked poised for a straightforward victory after taking the opening set, but Frenchman Simon staged a comeback, rallying back from a 5-3 deficit and winning four games in a row to claim the second.
And veteran Simon, who is set to retire after this tournament, took the final set to keep his career alive for at least one more match, winning 4-6 7-5 6-3.
The fans seemed to start getting under Murray’s skin as Simon earned the first break of the final set to make it 2-1 and what had looked like a potential straight-sets victory for Murray evolved into a battle.
For just the third time in 19 meetings, Simon prevailed and will play on, in front of an elated home crowd in Paris.