There will be days in the future when Andy Murray entrances us with his brilliance and there will be others when he infuriates us with his obstinacy. This was neither. Day one of an Australian Open that had promised so much for him was simply left flat by a performance that for the most part was inexplicable in its negligence and a reaction that, by the normally feisty Scot's standards, was anodyne and almost blithe.

Perhaps we were all expecting too much after Murray’s diligent off-season work ethic and sublime form demonstrated in winning the year-opening title in Qatar. Those who study tennis history would certainly tell you that a large proportion of those who head for Melbourne with the prize from Doha make a pretty rapid turnaround and end up heading for the city’s Tullamarine Airport after only one match. Such was the case for Ivan Ljubicic last year and, looking further back in recent history, Stefan Koubek, Marcelo Rios and Fabrice Santoro.

However, Murray lost 7-5, 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 not because he was weary, still jet lagged and had some desert sand in his shoes. He was sent sprawling out of the tournament by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, of France, because his usually exemplary shot selection was horribly off beam.

It was a difficult match to explain. Murray won more points (137 to Tsonga's 135), he benefited from 61 unforced errors committed by his opponent, and he registered five breaks of serve - one more than Tsonga. The Frenchman even hit six double faults, twice as many as Murray. But strive as Murray did, he could not take advantage of these statistical superiorities.

Apart from the third set when he played with the poise, precision and authority that we expected from somebody legitimately regarded as a potential contender for the year’s opening grand-slam event, the 20-year-old Scot simply failed to hit the correct shot at the right time.

When a passing shot down the line was required, Murray hit the ball into the centre of the court. When a point begged to be finished off with a crisp volley, he repeatedly elected to play that infuriating drop shot that a succession of coaches have advised him to use in moderation. And on a day when his normal strong suit – the return of serve – could have easily broken the will of his opponent, it was too respectful and lacked its usual bite.

Admittedly Tsonga, who four months ago ended Tim Henman’s career at the US Open, exerted pressure on Murray in the opening set and contributed to some doubts beginning to fester in the ninth seed’s mind. But Tsonga is the sort of player who is always going to present his opponent with opportunities and, by his own admission, Murray was unable to take advantage.

Those of us who have braved Murray’s wrath in some tetchy post-match press conferences expected the post-mortem of this defeat to be a grumpy affair. Remember, two years ago Murray blamed the press for putting too much pressure on his young shoulders and said they were the prime contributors to his first round exit.

How wrong we were. The loser was almost apologetic, openly held his hands up and admitted he should have won. Then, curiously, he revealed he has had far greater disappointments and this was a simply defeat from which to learn.

Murray’s hope in the forthcoming months is to maintain his place in the world’s top ten. That will be difficult considering he loses the ranking points earned by progressing to the tournament’s last 16 a year ago. In addition he has chosen not to defend February’s Sybase Open in San Jose that he has won for the past two years and will instead play in Rotterdam.

However, the next time he takes to a tennis court, will be in Buenos Aires when he leads the British team in the most difficult of Davis Cup ties against Argentina. In Australia he was the overriding favourite to beat Tsonga. On the South American clay against the likes of David Nalbandian and Co., he is expected to be the overwhelmed underdog. Hopefully the tables can be turned.