Washington: British top seed Andy Murray suffered a stunning defeat in his first hardcourt warm-up match for the US Open, losing yesterday to Teymuraz Gabashvili at the ATP and WTA Washington Open.
The 53rd-ranked Russian outlasted third-ranked Murray 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) over two hours and 42 minutes to reach the third round at the ATP and WTA Washington Open.
Murray, the first Washington top seed to lose his first match since Ivan Lendl in 1993, served for the match in the third set and was two points from victory before Gabashvili broke to 5-5 and the Russian later took the final four tie-breaker points to secure the triumph.
“It was a tough match,” Murray said. “Obviously disappointing not to close out the third set when I had a chance. Struggled with my rhythm early. There were some good rallies. He served well in the big moments, especially in the third set.”
Gabashvili, who was 3-22 against prior top-10 foes, hit 30 winners and only made 15 unforced errors while winning 86 percent of first-serve points in making Murray the highest-ranked victim of his career.
“Anytime you beat Andy Murray 7-6 in the third it’s something special -- 100 percent it’s my best victory,” Gabashvili said.
It was a shocking defeat for the 28-year-old Scotsman, who sparked Britain’s Davis Cup team past France in July after a semi-final run at Wimbledon.
Murray, the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon champion, has much to work on before the Flushing Meadows fortnight begins August 31.
“Temu served well but I usually back myself to return better than I did,” Murray said. “That cost me a lot tonight. Pretty frustrating.
“I was happy with how I moved and did certain things on the court. There are some things I felt I could improve.”
Gabashvili, who will next face Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis, honed his skills the past three weeks in World Team Tennis, a US league with no-ad scoring and shorter sets where he was named the Men’s Most Valuable Player.
“My body is really tired but I learned to play important points and I learned to play aggressive and without fear,” Gabashvili said. “I’m confident now. It really helped me.”
Gabashvili, who lost to Murray last year at Shanghai in their only prior meeting, broke the Briton with a backhand winner to take the first set after 45 minutes.
Gabashvili sent a forehand overhead smash wide to give Murray a 4-3 edge in the second set. He had a break chance on Murray in the 10th game but sent a forehand volley long and two points later hit a backhand wide to hand the Scotsman the second set.
Murray broke Gabashvili at love in the ninth game of the third set and was two points from victory before surrendering a service break on a wide crosscourt backhand. Gabashvili won the final four points of the tie-breaker, the last on a backhand winner with a fist pump to celebrate.
Also sent packing was South African fifth seed Kevin Anderson, who lost to German Alexander Zverev 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer outlasted Slovenian Blaz Rola 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, to reach a third-round matchup against Japanese second seed Kei Nishikori.
On the women’s side, Australian second seed Samantha Stosur, the 2011 US Open champion, advanced to a quarter-final with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over American Irina Falconi. French fifth seed Alize Cornet was upset 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) by 19-year-old wildcard Louisa Chirico.
Defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova withdrew due to a lower left leg injury, advancing American Sloane Stephens into the quarter-finals against Chirico.
Stosur likes odds as Serena Grand Slam spoiler
Washington: Samantha Stosur, the last woman to beat Serena Williams at the US Open, likes her chances of disrupting the American star’s calendar Grand Slam bid if she gets the chance.
“I’ve always actually quite enjoyed playing Serena. I’ve got a game that disrupts her,” Stosur said yesterday.
“You have to have the game. My game matches up well against Serena. I’ve got the kind of weapons that can bother her.”
And the 31-year-old Australian advises rivals to play their own games and keep the pressure on the world number one if they hope to derail her bid for a fifth Slam title in a row when the Flushing Meadows fortnight begins August 31.
“No doubt she is going to be feeling the pressure, as much as you can when you’ve won four Slams in a row and going for a fifth,” Stosur said. “You know she wants to get that calendar Slam. She’s not immune to the nerves and pressure.
“You have to go after it. Whatever it is you do, you have got to bring that at the big moments and make it happen.”
Coming off a clay-court title at Bad Gastein, second seed Stosur advanced to the quarter-finals of the WTA and ATP Washington Open with a 6-1, 7-5 victory yesterday over American Irina Falconi. Stosur, ranked 21st, won her only Grand Slam title at the 2011 US Open by defeating Williams 6-2, 6-3 in the final.
“Playing her on one of those big stages, you see what the benchmark is and how you have to get about playing it,” Stosur said.
“I’ve gone out there and gotten blasted but I also know that on any given day I can go out there and win and that’s quite exciting.”
REUTERS
