Andy Murray bows out of the European Open in the second round after straight-sets loss to Diego Schwartzmann with the British star feeling effects of his epic three hour and 45 minute first-round tie
- Andy Murray is out of the European Open after losing to Diego Schwartzman
- He lost in straight sets – 6-4, 7-6 – losing the big points against the Argentine
- The former British No 1 was feeling the effects of an epic first-round tie
- His match against Frances Tiafoe lasted three hours and 45 minutes this week
Andy Murray ran out of gas at the European Open on Thursday night, going down in straight sets to Diego Schwartzman in the last 16.
The 34-year-old was probably feeling the effects of his three-hour 45-minute first-round epic against Frances Tiafoe.
This match was similarly tight but Murray lost the big points this time, with No 2 seed Schwartzman winning 6-4, 7-6 in the pair’s first meeting.
Andy Murray has crashed out of the European Open after losing to Diego Schwartzman
Murray kept things tight against the Argentine (right) but lost on the big points in the match
The diminutive Argentine, 29, saluted Murray after the match, saying: ‘When I grew up playing tennis, I was watching Andy, Roger and Rafa, so I have huge respect for him as an opponent.
‘I said to him it was a pleasure to play against him. We had not played before and he is coming back from an injury and every week he is playing better and moving better. I really enjoyed the match against him.’
Murray raced into a 4-1 lead but lost five games on the spin to lose the first set.
He recovered from a break down to force a tiebreak in the second, but the consistent and fleet-footed Schwartzman edged it 8-6.
For Murray, another decent opportunity to get his ranking moving in the right direction has gone by the wayside. He remains outside the top 150.
The Brit was dead on his feet after winning the longest best-of-three-set match of 2021 in the first round against Frances Tiafoe