Murray out in round 1 again, Latest Tennis News - The New Paper
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Murray out in round 1 again

Ex-world No. 1 falls at first hurdle in two of his four tournaments this year

Andy Murray's comeback following hip surgery hit another roadblock yesterday morning (Singapore time), after he was beaten 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 by France's Lucas Pouille in the first round of the Cincinnati Open.

The Scot went under the knife in January, but has had a frustrating time since he came back to the ATP circuit in June.

The former world No. 1 had hoped to build on the momentum that had carried him into the quarter-finals 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.

Murray, whose ranking plummeted into the 800s last month but has now risen to 375, has fallen at the first hurdle in two of the four tournaments he has contested this year.

"I lost only 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, I 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.

Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic defeated American Steve Johnson 6-4, 7-6(7/4) in a hard-fought match under the lights.

Stan Wawrinka dug deep and prevailed 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against 12th seed Diego Schwartzman in their first career meeting to set up a battle with Japan's Kei Nishikori. - REUTERS

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