Tennis News • Andy Murray Makes Progress But Loses In Winston-Salem, Lee Makes History

By Ricky Dimon

Andy Murray is now 0-2 after two tournaments in his comeback to singles. That is not particularly surprising, nor alarming, nor any cause for concern.

It is not about wins and losses right now for Murray, who showed signs of progress and continued to be pain free during a 7-6(8), 7-5 loss to Sandgren in round one of the rain-delayed Winston-Salem Open late on Monday night. The 32-year-old Scot dropped his Cincinnati opener last week via a 6-4, 6-4 decision against eventual semifinalist Richard Gasquet.

“Some things were a bit better today, I think,” Murray said following his two-hour and nine-minute match on Monday. “I was hitting the ball a bit cleaner than I did maybe in Cincinnati… I feel like I moved fairly well to some drop shots, which maybe last week I wasn’t running to. So there’s some good things in there but also some stuff I would like to do better,” Murray said. “Physically, [I feel] OK considering, no pain, no discomfort. Just a little bit more tired than usual.

“I’m quite aware of sort of where I’m at just now and what my level is. It’s competitive at this level but it needs to be better. Maybe I need play a level down to get some matches and build my game up a little bit before I start playing on the tour again.”

The former world No. 1, who underwent hip resurfacing surgery after the Australian Open, will not play either singles or doubles at the U.S. Open. A Challenger is possible.

Speaking of Challengers, that is where Duckhee Lee has spent most of his time on tour. But the 21-year-old South Korean played in an ATP main draw for the first time in his career on Monday and became the first deaf player to win a match on the main tour when he defeated Henri Laaksonen 7-6(4), 6-1.

“People made fun of me for my disability,” Lee said through a translator. “They told me I shouldn’t be playing. It was definitely difficult, but my friends and family helped me get through. I wanted to show everyone that I could do this. My message for people who are hearing impaired is to not be discouraged. If you try hard, you can do anything.”

Next up for Lee on Tuesday is Hubert Hurkacz.

“I’m going to go to the match with the same attitude,” the world No. 212 assured. “I’m going to do my best and see what happens.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.