Andy Murray To Play Singles In Cincinnati, Drawn Against Gasquet

  • Posted: Aug 10, 2019

Andy Murray To Play Singles In Cincinnati, Drawn Against Gasquet

Aug092019

Two-time Cincinnati champ receives wild card, could play Thiem in R2

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect Murray’s draw.

Andy Murray will make his return to singles action next week at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where he is a two-time champion. The former World No. 1 received a wild card into the ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament, and he will face Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the first round.

Murray, 32, will be making his first singles appearance since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in January following the Australian Open. In June, he returned to tour-level action in doubles and won the title at London’s Queen’s Club with Feliciano Lopez in his first tournament back.

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The Scot will face a familiar opponent in his first singles match in seven months, as he leads the Frenchman 8-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, with Gasquet last beating him at 2012 Rome. The 14-time ATP Masters 1000 titlist has won five consecutive matches against the World No. 66, who did not compete this season until the Mutua Madrid Open in order to recover from groin surgery.

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If Murray defeats Gasquet, he will face fourth seed and BNP Paribas Open champion Dominic Thiem in the second round. Murray has won two of their three meetings, with his only loss coming on clay at 2017 Barcelona.

The Scot, who made his Cincinnati debut in 2005, claimed his first Masters 1000 title here in 2008 with victory over Novak Djokovic in the final. He also defeated Djokovic for the title in 2011.

The Western & Southern Open also awarded wild cards to Americans Sam Querrey and Reilly Opelka, as well as Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero. 

The Impressive field at the seventh Masters 1000 tennis tournament of 2019 will be led by former champions Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Djokovic and Federer will be playing in their first tournament since facing off in the Wimbledon final.

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