Andy Murray was unable to join Jack Draper in the US Open third round (Picture: Reuters)
Andy Murray has crashed out of the US Open after losing to 19th-seed Grigor Dimitrov in the second round on Thursday.
The British tennis legend was handed a tough draw after narrowly missing out on a seeding as former world No.3 Dimitrov recorded a 6-3 6-4 6-1 victory in front of the Arthur Ashe crowd.
Murray, who plays with a metal hip at the age of 36, headed into the Grand Slam with an abdominal problem and despite his early exit in New York it has still been an impressive year for the former world No.1, who has won three ATP Challenger titles and climbed up to world No.37.
He was not the only Brit in action at Flushing Meadows on Thursday as world No.123 Jack Draper, 21, stunned 17th-seed Hubert Hurkacz to reach the third round and equal his best-ever run at a major tournament after he reached the same stage at last year’s US Open.
Draper will next face unseeded American Michael Mmoh for a spot in the fourth round and in the women’s singles British No.1 Katie Boulter beat Wang Yafan in the second round which will now see her take on American world No.59 Peyton Stearns. Jodie Burrage, meanwhile, lost to second-seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Murray headed into his match against Dimitrov as the underdog given his lower ranking and injury struggles in the build-up to Flushing Meadows but did hold the superior head-to-head record at 8-3 and won their last meeting seven years ago.
The three-time major champion got off to a shaky start as Dimitrov raced into a 40-love on his serve in a game two after a hold and he secured the break to open up a 2-0 lead, but Murray bounced back and conjured up three break points of his own in game three, securing it with the third as his opponent fired into the net.
Dimitrov, 32, blew two chances to break back as Murray held to level it up at 2-2 and the Bulgarian was then was forced to save break point himself as the momentum kept swinging. Dimitrov, though, eventually secured his second break and held to take the first set 6-3.
Things got worse for Murray at the start of the second set as Dimitrov sealed an early break and the pair exchanged service games until the Brit missed a crucial break point opportunity while 4-3 down. It was enough for Dimitrov to see out the second set 6-4 and edge towards victory in sunny conditions in New York.
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Murray needed to produce something special to keep himself in the match but looked visibly frustrated as Dimitrov broke him again in game one. However, just as he was heading for an exit, Murray broke straight back to keep his hopes alive.
Any chance of a comeback did not last long, though, as Dimitrov secured another break in game three, saved two break points in game four and then secured his sixth break of the match to lead 4-1. Dimitrov held and broke once more to take the third set 6-1 and set up a third-round clash against Alexander Zverev.
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Mixed day for the British players at Flushing Meadows.