SUNSHINE BREAK COULD BE RAY OF LIGHT FOR ANDY

ANDY MURRAY wants to take a winter break in the sun after a gruelling autumn schedule of matches.

The Scot’s latest setback came on Monday, when he suffered a bitterly frustrating first-round exit in the Paris Masters at the hands of Dominik Koepfer (right), failing to convert seven match points.

Koepfer came from behind to claim a 4-6 7-5 7-6 victory to dump out the former World No.1, who made an uncharacteristic nine double faults and 36 unforced errors.

Murray, who does not plan to play in the Davis Cup for Great Britain later this month, aims to be at the Stockholm Open next week, and will then draw the curtain on a disappointing campaign.

The Scot said: “That’s currently my plan. That’s not changed. I played a lot of tournaments in a row, and a lot of long matches in those tournaments. Granted, I have not gone very deep in any of them, but that was another three-hour match. Just playing a lot of long matches.” Murray (above), who had been hoping in Paris to raise his ranking above the No.144 where he currently stands, intends to take some time off after Stockholm –apart from possibly playing in an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi – before the Battle of the Brits event in Aberdeen in December, and the Australian Open in January.

He added: “If I wasn’t going to go to Abu Dhabi, I would go away and practise for a little bit outdoors in the sun.

“But even if I was to play in Abu Dhabi, I may potentially do that as well. I have played a lot of tennis recently. Maybe it would be nice to just be at home and rest, let the body and the mind recover, then make a plan for what I do moving forwards.”