BREAKING NEWS: So Pathetic Andy Murray crashes out of Citi Open , SEE FULL DETAILS
Andy Murray crashes out of Citi Open with Taylor Fritz loss as climate protest halts play
Andy Murray lost 7-6, 3-6, 4-6 to American star Taylor Fritz on Friday in an action-packed match in the last 16 of the Citi Open as he avoids a doubleheader which could have seen the Brit also take on Jordan Thompson later on the same day. In Murray’s first tournament since his Wimbledon second-round defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas, he was disrupted by climate protests that caused the match to be paused as once again tennis fell victim to disruption – similar to demonstrations last month at SW19.
In a first set that took nearly an hour-and-a-half to play, Fritz broke Murray on the first game – much to the veteran’s frustrations as he smashed his racket into the floor in frustration shortly after letting out loud shrieks as he was livid with his service.
The three-time Grand Slam champion may have felt fortunate to still be in the set having won a couple of games back from one of the tournament favourites, before climate protestors caused the match to be paused for five-and-a-half minutes as they threw oversized custom tennis balls onto the court.
They held up banners protesting climate change and calling for an end to fossil fuels, before being escorted out of the arena by local police. Murray and Fritz had taken their seats, but after a lengthy stoppage resumed play and Murray gradually came back into the tie, saving three set points before forcing a tiebreak that he won 7-2 in extremely humid conditions.
