Tsonga beats Murray in Abu Dhabi

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France rushes to the net during his match against Kei Nishikori of Japan at the Paris Masters men's singles tennis tournament in Paris, October 29, 2013.  [Photo/Agencies]

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Wimbledon champion Andy Murray lost his comeback match from a three-month injury layoff in the opening round of the Mubadala Championship on Thursday.

Murray lost 7-5, 6-3 to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 72 minutes.

Tsonga will meet Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the exhibition event on Friday, while Rafael Nadal will take on Spanish compatriot David Ferrer in the other semi.

Ferrer, who last week dumped his longtime coach Javier Piles, beat Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-5, 6-1.