The former world number one lost to the maverick Kazakhstani 7-5, 6-4 on the Rhode Island grass in their fourth meeting already this season.
But Murray, currently ranked 52nd in the world, did guarantee that he will be back inside the world’s top 50 come the next rankings update on Monday.
The 35-year-old will be ranked either 49th or 50th according to the live ATP rankings, depending on whether Tallon Griekspoor wins the Amersfoort Challenger this weekend.
world in the week commencing 13th June this year, his first foray into the top 50 since May 2018, before dropping out again a week ahead of Wimbledon.
This steady movement up the rankings aligns with the Brit’s main goal for the US swing leading up to the final Slam of the season, being among the 32 seeds at the US Open in New York.
“That’s a big goal of mine these next few weeks,” he said after defeating Sam Querrey in the first round in Newport. “I’ve been playing better the last few months. But if you want to have deep runs in the biggest tournaments it does help to have a seeding so I’ll try my best to do that.”
The first tour level hard court event in the US comes at the Atlanta Open beginning 25th July, followed soon after by the ATP 500 Citi Open in Washington DC starting 1st August.
It is currently unclear when Murray will return to competition.
