Abu Dhabi, Jan 2 (IANS): Andy Murray had a new look and there were a few early signs of a new game style as he kicked off his season with a surprisingly hard-fought victory over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the Mubadala World Tennis Tournament.

With the all black kit of his suppliers Under Armour making its debut, Murray took two and a half hours to defeat the world No. 14 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 Thursday, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Despite the length of the match, there was more intent from the former Wimbledon champion to shorten the points by being prepared to attack the net, something he is sure to have worked on over the past month with coach Amelie Mauresmo.

It may be an unofficial event with no ranking points at stake but both players were clearly keen to get a proper game in with so little time ahead of this month’s Australian Open.

"It was a tough match and the last few games were very hard," said Murray, who is training hard alongside competing this week.

"It was a hard way to start the new year and I hope the matches get a bit easier from now on!"

Murray takes on Rafael Nadal in the tournament semi-final Friday, with the French Open champion very much in need of match tightness with Melbourne already looming.