Andy Murray’s preparation for this month’s US Open began with a first-round defeat at the Washington Open.
The 35-year-old lost 7-6 (10-8) 4-6 6-1 to Sweden’s 115th-ranked Mikael Ymer. Of his chances of being seeded for the US Open, the former world number one and current number 50 said: “It’s still possible, but I’ll need to certainly play better than I did.”
There were wins for Kyle Edmund and Jack Draper, but Katie Boulter was defeated in the Silicon Valley Classic.
Boulter shocked eight-seed Karolina Pliskova by storming to the first set, only for the Czech to come through 1-6 7-6 6-3.
Edmund beat Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki 6-4 7-6 (10-8) on his return to the ATP singles after a 20-month layoff to set up a meeting with compatriot Dan Evans,
Edmund has had three left knee surgeries and was playing in his first tour-level singles match in October 2020. He said: “I didn’t find it easy. I hung in there and I got my reward in the end.”
Draper beat American Stefan Kozlov 7-5 6-2 to progress and will now face Russia’s Andrey Rublev.
Harriet Dart also lost in Washington, with China’s Zhu Lin winning 6-4 6-3, while Emma Raducanu’s professional doubles debut - alongside Denmark’s Clara Tauson — ended in a 6-4 6-1 loss to Romanian Monica Niculescu and Czech Lucie Hradecka.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, playing her first singles match in nearly a year, was also eliminated in the opening round in Washington, falling to Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino 4-6 6-1 6-4.
“It was nice to have the crowd behind me,” said the 42-year-old. “Definitely a great experience - just trying to shake off some rust. That’s just to be expected.”
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina lost 1-6 6-2 6-0 to seventh seed Daria Kasatkina at the WTA San Jose hardcourt tournament.
