Defeat for Andy Murray in the first round of the Geneva Open was confirmed as play resumed in his match against Yannick Hanfmann, the former British No 1 losing in straight sets 7-5 6-2.
Murray was a set down and trailing Hanfmann 4-1 in the second on Monday when bizarre weather conditions forced a postponement and for the match to conclude the following day.
Gusts of wind had been sending showers of white pollen onto the court from the nearby Parc des Eaux-Vives, prompting Murray to complain to Allensworth: “It’s like it’s snowing out here.”
Amid the unlikely conditions, Murray summoned two double faults in succession to hand Hanfmann his second break of serve in the second set shortly before umpire Greg Allensworth sent the players back to the dressing room due to an impending storm.
When the match resumed on Tuesday, world number 85 Hanfmann didn’t need long to serve things out for a comfortable victory.
It represents a disappointing return to the ATP Tour for Murray, who hoped to use Geneva to limber up for his first French Open appearance since 2020 after producing a disappointing performance at a Challenger event in Bordeaux last
week on his comeback from injury.
He looked painfully out of sorts, struggling with his returns of serve and increasingly handing the initiative to his opponent, who was less inclined to accept the need for a weather interruption on the Monday.
Murray’s defeat means he misses the chance of booking a second-round clash with world number one Novak Djokovic, in what would have been their first meeting since the 2017 Doha final.
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Elsewhere, British number three Dan Evans missed a match point opportunity as he fell 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-6) to Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the first round of the Lyon Open.
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In a thrilling final set, Evans hit back from 5-2 behind to hold match point at 6-5 in the tie-break before Rinderknech rallied to reach round two.
World No 73 Rinderknech will play the winner of the match between Spaniard Jaume Munar and American No 5 seed Frances Tiafoe next.
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