Andy Murray continues to regain his sensations on a tennis court at the Winston-Salem tournament before facing another major challenge at the US Open. The Briton is already in the second round of the tournament after beating American Noah Rubin 6-2 and 6-0.
Murray was intractable before an opponent who entered the final draw of the tournament as a lucky loser due to the late loss of Nick Kyrgios due to a knee injury a few minutes before the start of the match with the stands full. Rubin accused Murray of fatigue after losing his match in the last round of the qualifying round to Lucas Pouille in three sets a few hours earlier. In the next round the Scotsman will face the American Frances Tiafoe, that he was exempt from this first round as he was seeded, and that is presented as a demanding test for Murray.
In statements collected by the ATP, Kyrgios himself justified his withdrawal. “I was in Florida, in Bradenton, recovering and training and I was very excited to play here. I love the facilities, they are fantastic. Playing against Andy Murray, one of my great friends and a tennis icon, would have been incredible, but obviously I have to take care of my body. I did not want to risk today and I am being very cautious with it, rehabilitating and training “.
Murray himself confessed the difficulty of the change of rival after the loss of Kyrgios. “In the beginning I had to play with Nick Kyrgios and he had a knee injury, so he wasn't going to play. I didn't know if I was going to finally play or not. They said that if I played against a player from the previous one then I would not be able to play and they placed a lucky loser … And so I played against Noah. It was complicated”.
Hi murrayZo emphasized the change of strategy, although he confessed that little by little he felt more comfortable. “It was difficult during the first 45 minutes and the first two games because you have a strategy with your coach about the game you are going to play and then all that changes. 20 minutes before going out on the court you see yourself playing with someone you don't. you had planned to play. It was difficult but after the first games I felt more comfortable and he also struggled at the end. I know he's from here and that's great, because there was a great atmosphere, but my job is to try to win the game. “
In the rest of the matches of the day, Marco Cecchinato beat American Tennys Sandgren by a double 6-4, Gilles Simon took the French duel against Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 and 6-3 and Mikael Ymer beat Italian Stefano Travaglia in three sets by 6-2, 1-6 and 6-2.