Britain's return to the World Group by defeating Dodig in straight sets. Following the Davis Cup, Murray's season was cut short by his decision to undergo surgery, in order to sort out the lower back problems that had caused him problems since the early stages of the previous season. After being forced to withdraw from the French Open in May, the injury flared up again during the US Open and later during the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs, Murray made the decision that surgery was the best way to sort the problem out for the long-term. Following the conclusion of the 2013 season, Murray was voted the 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, after having been heavy favourite since the nominees were announced. 2014: 30th career title and out of top 10 Murray started his season at the Qatar Open in Doha. In the first round, he defeated Mousa Shanan Zayed in straight sets in 37 minutes without dropping a single game, but was defeated in three sets by No. 40 Florian Mayer in the second round, despite being a set and a break up three games into the second set. He then played a warm-up match at the 2014 AAMI Classic in Kooyong against No. 43 Lleyton Hewitt, losing in two close tiebreaks. He next headed to Melbourne for the 2014 Australian Open, where he drew the No. 112, Go Soeda of Japan. Despite worries that he was not match-fit, Murray got off to a strong start, dispatching the Japanese number 2 in under 90 minutes, losing just 5 games in the process. He next went on to defeat Vincent Millot and Feliciano López respectively in straight sets. In the fourth round, Murray dropped his first set of the tournament on his way to beating Stephane Robert in four sets to set up a meeting with long-standing rival Roger Federer in the quarter-finals. Despite saving two match points to take the third set, he ultimately went out in four, ending his streak of four consecutive Australian Open semi-finals. As a result of losing before the final, Murray fell to No. 6, falling out of the top 5 for the first time since 2008. He next headed to the United States to compete in the Davis Cup World Group first round with Great Britain, who went into the tie as outsiders. Murray won both of his ties against Donald