Murray ends ATP Tour drought with straight sets defeat

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Montpellier: Andy Murray lost in straight sets to No. 83-ranked Egor Gerasimov at the Open Sud de France in the former No. 1’s first ATP Tour match since October.

Murray’s lack of match fitness was apparent as he was beaten 7-6 (8), 6-1 by the big-serving Belarusian in one hour and 44 minutes in the first round of the indoor hard-court event.

Murray tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before he was due to board a charter flight to Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open last month. He was forced to withdrew from the year’s first grand slam tournament, saying he could not figure out a workable quarantine that would allow him to compete amid the pandemic.

The British player is currently ranked 121st as he works his way back from hip issues that led to two operations.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff’s five-week stay in Australia has been extended with a second-round win on Wednesday at the Adelaide International on Wednesday.

The 16-year-old American beat sixth-seeded Petra Martic 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals of the hard-court tournament at Memorial Drive. It was Gauff’s fourth win in a row after two qualifying wins and a victory in the first round.

Gauff lost to fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina in straight sets at the Australian Open. In 2020 during her Australian Open debut, she lost to eventual champion Sofia Kenin in three sets in the fourth round.

This year, Gauff also spent two weeks in COVID-19-forced quarantine ahead of the delayed Australian Open. She’ll face fellow American Shelby Rogers in the Adelaide quarter-finals on Thursday.

In other matches, second-seeded Belinda Bencic also advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Misaki Doi. Storm Sanders upset seventh-seeded Yulia Putintseva 6-4. 5-7. 6-1, Jil Teichmann beat eighth-seeded Wang Qiang 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Anastasija Sevastova defeated Christina McHale 6-4, 6-1.

The 23-year-old Bencic lost in the quarter-finals at Memorial Drive last year. She won six consecutive games from early in the first set to take control of the match.

“I really like this court, it’s only my second time here in Adelaide but I love this tournament, I feel very comfortable here,” Bencic said in an on-court interview.

Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty, who lost in the Australian Open quarter-finals, is the Adelaide defending champion. The Australian received a wildcard entry and plays American Danielle Collins in a second-round match later Wednesday.