Thursday 6 August 2015 15:04, UK
Andy Murray was handed a shock defeat by world No 53 Teymuraz Gabashvili in the Washington Open second round on Wednesday night.
The British No 1's hard court preparations for the US Open got off to the worst possible start when, having been seeded first and handed a bye for the first round, he was handed a 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-4) upset.
Murray was never allowed to settle by the hard-serving Gabashvili, who blasted 11 aces and broke late in the third set before holding his nerve in the tie-break for his finest victory of the season.
Hopefully with a few more days and having that match under my belt, I'll be able to make some improvements for the next few weeks.
Gabashvili reached the third round of the US Open a year ago and his liking for the hard courts of North America was evident in the first set when he took the contest to Murray and broke twice to claim the opener.
Attempting to make the transition from grass to hard courts, the top seed appeared to shake off the rust in the second set to level the match but was unable to seal the deal when he was broken as he served for the contest at 5-4 in the decider.
The world No 3 then edged 4-3 ahead in the tie-break only for his Russian opponent to take the next four points, and the match, to improve his record to 9-13 in 2015. It was just the second match between the pair, with Murray having won their first last year in Shanghai.
Murray, when visiting the White House in the United States' capital city, had warned that the Washington Open represented his return to hard-court action after a long absence but he wouldn't have expected such a rude awakening.
"It's obviously a disappointing match to lose but it wasn't like I was blown off the court in a match that I had no chance of winning. I feel like I put myself in a position to win the match," Murray said.
"It was the first hard-court match for four-and-a-half months with only four or five days of preparation, so I was happy with how I moved and did certain things on court.
"But there are some things for me to improve and hopefully with a few more days and having that match under my belt, I'll be able to make some improvements for the next few weeks."
Gabashvili added: "I was exhausted at the end because my body was really tired but I learnt to play good points and I learnt to play aggressively and without any fear because you have to fight for every point."
The world No 53's previous high point of the campaign was his advance to the fourth round of the French Open but his victory over third-ranked Murray marks the fourth time the 30-year-old has secured a win against a top-10 opponent
Watch the Washington 500 and every tournament in the US Open Series leading up to the US Open live on Sky Sports this summer.
