Montpellier (AFP)
Former world tennis N.1 Andy Murray, undermined in recent years by injuries and dropped to 121st place, was eliminated in the first round of the ATP tournament in Montpellier on Tuesday by Belarusian Egor Gerasimov (N.83) 7- 6 (10/8), 6-1.
Invited by the organizers of the event, Murray, 33, offered good resistance in the first round before finally giving in to the tie-break.
Broken from the start in the second set, the Scotsman saw his opponent take off and leave him only one game.
Hip and groin injuries and several surgeries have seriously disrupted Murray's career since 2017 and even led him to consider retirement in early 2019.
Finally still present on the circuit, the winner of three Grand Slam tournaments, however, played little in a year 2020 upset by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Scotsman was himself affected by Covid-19 last January and was unable to participate in the Australian Open.
He launched his year 2021 last week in a Challenger tournament (2nd division of the ATP circuit) in Biella, Italy, where he lost in the final against the Ukrainian Illya Marchenko, 212th in the world.
© 2021 AFP