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WASHINGTON. – Top seed Andy Murray suffered a stunning defeat in his first hardcourt tennis warm-up match for the US Open, losing on Wednesday to Teymuraz Gabashvili at the ATP and WTA Washington Open.

The 53rd-ranked Russian outlasted third-ranked Murray 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) over two hours and 42 minutes to reach the third round at the ATP and WTA Washington Open.

Murray, the first Washington top seed to lose his first match since Ivan Lendl in 1993, served for the match in the third set and was two points from victory before Gabashvili broke to 5-5 and the Russian later took the final four tie-breaker points to secure the triumph.

“It was a tough match,” Murray said. “Obviously disappointing not to close out the third set when I had a chance. Struggled with my rhythm early. There were some good rallies. He served well in the big moments, especially in the third set.”

Gabashvili, who was 3-22 against prior top-10 foes, hit 30 winners and only made 15 unforced errors while winning 86 percent of first-serve points in making Murray the highest-ranked victim of his career. -AFP.