Andy Murray has remained upbeat despite losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his return from injury at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships.

The 26-year-old has been out since September after revealing that he was to have surgery on his lower back.

World number four Murray, who followed up Olympic and US Open success in 2012 with victory at Wimbledon this year, fell a 7-5 6-3 to the Frenchman in Abu Dhabi, but later said that he was encouraged by his performance.

"I moved well in the first set, especially once I got into the rallies," he told the National newspaper. "I didn't feel slow at all. In the second, I slowed down slightly, but that's something that is going to get better by playing matches.

"I can't expect to feel great for long periods of matches straightaway, but it was a good workout. You want to play your best, but you need to be realistic and patient. I will play better tomorrow than I did today.

"I was hitting the ball okay, moving well for the most part. Moving is the most important thing. I just need to be able to do it for a longer period. I just felt like I hadn't played a match for a while."

Murray will take on Stanislas Wawrinka in the fifth-place playoff on Friday.