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Andy Murray was distracted by bizarre weather conditions as he stood on the brink of defeat in the first round of the Geneva Open.
Murray trailed world number 85 Yannick Hanfmann by a set and a double break when umpire Greg Allensworth sent them back to the dressing rooms due to an impending storm.
Murray’s match will restart from 1pm onwards on Tuesday.
Gusts of wind had been sending showers of white pollen on to the court from the nearby Parc des Eaux-Vives, prompting Murray to complain to Allensworth: “It’s like it’s snowing out here.”
Amid the unlikely conditions, Murray summoned two double faults in succession to pave the way for Hanfmann to move 4-1 up in the second set having grabbed the decisive break in the first, reeling off 12 points in a row to win it 7-5.
It was a disappointing return to the ATP Tour for Murray, who hoped to use Geneva to limber up for his first French Open appearance since 2020 after producing a disappointing performance at a Challenger event in Bordeaux last
week on his comeback from injury.
He looked painfully out of sorts, struggling on the return of serve and increasingly handing the initiative to his opponent, who was less inclined to accept the need for a weather interruption.
Barring a spectacular revival it means Murray will miss the chance of booking a second-round clash with world number one Novak Djokovic, in what would have been their first meeting since the 2017 Doha final.
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Novak Djokovic saw the funny side of things when he turned up in a helmet at the Italian Open, after previously being hit by a bottle
British number three Dan Evans missed a match point opportunity as he fell 6-3 4-6 7-6 (6) to Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the first round of the Lyon Open.
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Highlights from Arthur Rinderknech’s win against Dan Evans in Lyon
In a thrilling final set, Evans hit back from 5-2 behind to hold match point at 6-5 in the tie-break before Rinderknech rallied to reach round two.
World No 73 Rinderknech will play the winner of the match between Spaniard Jaume Munar and American No 5 seed Frances Tiafoe next.
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