Wed, Aug 05, 2015 page20

• Berankis eliminates Taiwan’s Lu from Citi Open

  • AP, WASHINGTON
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  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.

  

  Grigor Dmitrov, left, and partner Mardy Fish reach for the ball in their men’s doubles match against Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil at the Citi Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center in Washington on Monday.

  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
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