Murray requires treatment before exit in Mallorca

A WEARY-LOOKING Andy Murray needed treatment as he was beaten last night by the world No 240, bringing to an end his experiment with the Rafa Nadal Challenger event in Mallorca. The 32-year-old Scot went out at the third-round stage in losing to Italy’s Matteo Viola 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in two hours and 43 minutes. Murray called for treatment from the physio on his left thigh during the changeover that followed the third game of the decider. He moved awkwardly for a brief while but improved after that and was able to complete the match. Playing a sudden-death tie-break, he was always behind and conceded his second match point with a double fault. By the end, he was taking longer than usual between points, with his body language suggesting fatigue. With two singles wins under his belt this week — the first he has notched since a second hip surgery — he will now assess where he is at physically, but his next scheduled tournament is a return to the main ATP Tour in Zhuhai, China, later next month. Asked about his condition afterwards, Murray said: ‘I’m cramping, very tired. I would have liked to have played more matches but it was good. I played two competitive matches. Physically, I need to get better.’ At the US Open, Dan Evans booked a third-round meeting with Roger Federer after upsetting the tournament’s 25th seed, Lucas Pouille. The Brit played solidly enough to beat the Frenchman 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 in three hours and ten minutes. He has already faced Federer on the Centre Court in 2016 and the Rod Laver Arena in January and now he will play him on the biggest stage of all, the Arthur Ashe Stadium. ‘I’d rather not be playing him but it’s better than being out on Court 12,’ reasoned Evans. ‘I have to go out there and think I can beat him. I’m in a different place to when we’ve played before. I’m past thinking: “It’s impossible to beat him” now.’ The state of Novak Djokovic’s left shoulder will be the subject of scrutiny again after he needed a medical timeout for treatment en route to the third round. He eventually defeated Argentinian Juan Ignacio Londero 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 but was hindered on his serve and backhand by the strain. Jo Konta enjoyed an emphatic 6-1, 6-0 win over world No 61 Margarita Gasparyan. It took only 54 minutes for Konta to overwhelm the Russian and she now faces China’s Shuai Zhang in the third round.