Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun crashed out of the first round of the Citi Open on Monday, beaten by world No. 86 Ricardas Berankis 7-6 (7/1), 6-3.
The Lithuanian saved both break points he faced and converted the only one he created to advance to the second round in 1 hour, 20 minutes in Washington.
In other men’s singles action, Teymuraz Gabashvili outlasted Benjamin Becker 4-6, 6-1, 6-3; Donald Young beat Tommy Haas 6-3, 6-4; Chung Hyeon defeated Dudi Sela 6-2, 6-1 and next faces reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic; James Duckworth eliminated Ryan Harrison 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) and next faces US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori; and Victor Estrella Burgos edged Nicolas Jarry 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a match against eighth seed John Isner.
Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY
Meanwhile, Andy Murray is back on hard courts for the first time in four months — and back at the Citi Open for the first time in nine years.
The two-time major champion is seeded No. 1 at the US Open tune-up, getting his game in gear on the surface on which he won his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows in 2012.
Like other seeded players, Murray received a first-round bye and his initial match in Washington, where he has not played since he was the 2006 runner-up, comes today against world No. 53 Gabashvili of Russia. It is to be Murray’s first competition on a hard court since losing in the final at Miami to top seed Novak Djokovic in early April.
“It does take a while, especially coming from the grass. This morning was the first time when I hit and started to feel more comfortable on the courts, feel like I’m starting to get used to them again. Obviously the conditions here, when compared with Wimbledon, is completely different. Extremely humid. Very high-bouncing courts,” said world No. 3 Murray, who lost to world No. 2 Roger Federer in the semi-finals at the All England Lawn Tennis Club last month.
In the Citi Open’s first completed match in the women’s singles, Louisa Chirico beat Heather Watson 6-3, 6-0.
It was Watson’s first tournament appearance since she pushed eventual champion Serena Williams to three sets in the third round at Wimbledon.
Yulia Putintseva got past Kurumi Nara 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) and sixth seed Irina-Camelia Begu defeated Madison Brengle 6-4, 6-0.
In the men’s doubles, the second stop on Mardy Fish’s farewell tour began with a victory.
Fish, who plans to retire after the US Open, teamed up with Grigor Dimitrov to beat last year’s Wimbledon champions Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil. Murray and Daniel Nestor lost in their doubles opener.
In singles, Murray’s season so far is three titles and a 48-7 record.
“The year as a whole, obviously, has been good. It’s been much, much better than last year. So there’s been some progress there, but obviously I want to keep trying to do better and hopefully these next few weeks I can go on a good run on hard courts and finish the year strong,” Murray said.
At the majors, Murray reached one final (losing to Djokovic at the Australian Open) and a pair of semi-finals (losing to Djokovic again at the French Open).
“In terms of goals, one of the things I spoke about at the beginning of the year was consistency and trying to make sure I did better at more of the events than I had done in the past, and I feel like that’s obviously been a positive,” Murray said. “The Grand Slams are tournaments I want to win. Haven’t quite managed to do that yet this year, but I feel like I’ve played well in all of the Slams. The French Open was the best I’ve ever played on the clay. The Australian Open, I was very close there, I felt, and unfortunately at Wimbledon, Roger played an unbelievable match. He served extremely well there and was just too good on that day.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
RSS