Murray beaten in opening round on ATP Tour return

FORMER world No 1 Andy Murray’s return to the ATP Tour ended in defeat to Egor Gerasimov at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. Britain’s two-time Wimbledon champion, still working his way back to form after undergoing hip surgery two years ago, went down 7-6, 6-1 to the world No 83. Murray, who was unable to compete at the Australian Open after testing positive for Covid-19, instead played at a lower-level Challenger tournament in Italy where he reached the final before heading to France. In his first ATP Tour match of the year, the 33-year-old Scot was edged out of a tight first set which lasted an hour and ten minutes before Gerasimov ran away with the second. Gerasimov will play either Aljaz Bedene or Italian fifth seed Jannik Sinner in round two. Jo Konta, meanwhile, lost her first match since withdrawing from the Australian Open following a straight-sets defeat to Shelby Rogers at the Adelaide International. The British No 1 was forced to curtail her participation at the opening major of the year midway through her first-round clash against Kaja Juvan with an abdominal injury. And on her return to action, the third seed was comfortably outplayed by the in-form Rogers, who won 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 12 minutes to book her place in the last eight. It marks a further setback for Konta, 29, who endured a troubling 2020 campaign due to ongoing issues with a knee injury. Speaking on court after the match, Rogers, who reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, said: ‘I started the match really well with a quick break and I kept the momentum going. ‘I knew I had to bring my best game for Jo, who can serve you off the court whenever she wants. I’m very happy.’