When Andy Murray announced his return to singles competition, every tennis fan was buzzing. The 32-year-old even savoured the moment by filming his walk on to the court as the crowd cheered his name.
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However, in spite of the hype surrounding his return, Andy Murray downplayed his performance expectations. Instead, he opted to focus on assessing his game in a competitive singles match.
Disappointingly, Murray lost to Richard Gasquet in straight sets, but the good news was that there were promising signs. The 32-year-old delighted the American crowd by refusing to go down without a fight and doggedly battled on.
However, Gasquet seized control of the proceedings as he kept Murray along the baseline and tested the Briton’s fitness to the max.
The two broke each other before the Frenchman broke once again, dealing a number of drop shots which Murray was unable to recover from.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Murray’s loss.
No fairytale return for @andy_murray but enough positives to be excited about the future. He’s back and that’s the main thing. Interesting decision to come now re the US Open 😙
@andy_murray loses in his singles comeback at @CincyTennis 6-4, 6-4, to @richardgasquet1 Monday - He tried. The footwork came around even if all of Murray’s shots weren’t there. More positives than negatives in his first singles match since #AO19 It’s about process. 🎾 #tennis
🎾🇬🇧 On his return to Men's singles tennis, Andy Murray has been knocked out of the Cincinnati Masters by Richard Gasquet It's good to see him back on the court either way!
Welcome back‼️ Sir Andy🎾🎾🎾 #ATPCincinnati #andymurray #tennis
Vintage, Sir Andy 😍 @andy_murray | @CincyTennis
Very positive 1st match back for @andy_murray. Thought he got better in the 2nd set. He will have learned a lot from a physical point of view and how he recovers over night.
Andy Murray has lost his singles comeback at the Cincinnati Masters, but there was promising signs from the two-time Wimbledon champion #CincyTennis express.co.uk/sport/tennis/1…
Fantastic to see @andy_murray back on the singles court!
Well Andy Murray lost his first singles match 64 64 but lots of good signs. #CincyTennis
Andy Murray beaten 4-6 4-6 by Richard gasquet in the 1st round of the western and southern open #murray #defeated #round1 #westernandsouthernopen #Cincinnatiopen ( Getty )
Richard Gasquet wins a match. Andy Murray wins a day without excruciating pain as a singles player. Everybody wins. #WINcinnati
Andy Murray's singles comeback ends in a Cincinnati R1 loss to Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-4. But so good to have him back!
210 days 8 hours 25 minutes 24 seconds And we counted every second. Welcome back to singles, @andy_murray 👏 #CincyTennis
Scots happy to have Andy Murray back. #CincyTennis
Andy Murray was beaten by Richard Gasquet in his first singles match since hip resurfacing surgery in round one of the Cincinnati Masters. More here 👉 bbc.in/2TxAiV6
