Cincinnati: Andy Murray’s comeback following hip surgery hit another roadblock here Monday after he was beaten 1-6, 6-1, 4-6 by France’s Lucas Pouille in the first round of the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament.
The former World No.1 had hoped to build on the momentum which had carried him into the quarterfinals of the Citi Open before he pulled out of the Washington tournament citing fatigue.
But it was World No.17 Pouille who proved to be the more resourceful as he claimed his first win in five tries against Murray. “I only lost four more points in the match than him,” said Murray, who won 82 points to Pouille’s 86. “It was tight. He’s a top 20 player. If I can improve by 10, 15 per cent, you turn a lot of those matches around.”
American Sam Querrey overcame 38 aces by ninth seed John Isner to send his friend and compatriot packing with a 6-4, 6-7(5-7), 7-6(7-5) win. The win was the first time Querrey has come out on top in a third set tie-breaker this year after losing seven in a row.
Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic defeated American Steve Johnson 6-4, 7-6(7-4) in a hard-fought match under the lights. The 31-year-old Serb is searching for his first Cincinnati Masters title after five finals.
Swiss Stan Wawrinka dug deep and ultimately prevailed 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against 12th seed Diego Schwartzman in their first career meeting to set up a highly-anticipated battle with Japan’s Kei Nishikori. The Japanese beat Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3
In other matches played on the day Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov also advanced to the second round with a hard-fought 7-6(8-6), 3-6, 7-5 win over Frances Tifaoe. Shapovalov will next meet 14th Kyle Edmunds who rolled over Martin McDonald three and two. .
World No.2 Roger Federer, has been given top billing in the event after Rafa Nadal withdrew. The Swiss will take the court Tuesday and said Monday he is eager to make the hard court transition.
“I’ve trained hard, I’m anxious. I chose to skip Toronto for the health of my body,” the seven-time Cincinnati champion said. “I don’t want to be hurt, there is too much to play.”
But the Swiss admitted that sitting out competition is difficult. “Watching from afar is tough,” said Federer, who will start against Peter Gojowczyk after the German beat Portugal’s Joao Sousa 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. “But that’s part of growing older, you’ve got to take care of the body.”
