Andy Murray is out of the Cincinnati Masters after a straight-set second round loss to Poland’s world No. 13 Hubert Hurkacz.
Murray, the two-time champion lost a tie-break in the first set before being broken late in the second.
Hurkacz served out for a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 victory to book his spot in the last 16.
Murray, 34 said, “This week was fairly positive. I played much better than at Wimbledon and the grass season”.
24-year-old Hurkacz will now play Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in a bid to make it to the quarter final, as he looks for his fourth career title.
In the first round Murray eased past Frenchman Richard Gasquet in straight sets, while Hurkacz clinched a three-set victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
It was the first meeting on the ATP Tour between the two players.
Murray’s return to the tennis court was an eagerly anticipated event. The three-time Grand Slam champion and winner of this event in 2008 and 2011, was playing his first tournament since pulling out of the Olympic singles in Tokyo with a minor thigh strain.
The Scot, who won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2012 has been added to this year’s main draw, which begins on 30 August.
Murray, who has also struggled in 2021 with a groin injury, added: “This week my body felt good, even if hard courts are not easy on the body. Physically I was tired after some of the long rallies, but I felt fine”.
