Murray admitted that it was the first hard-court match for four-and-a-half months, adding that he was happy with how he moved on court, the BBC reported.
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“It was a tough match”, Murray said.
Speaking after the defeat, via the Indian Express, Murray was “obviously disappoint[ed]” with the result, especially because he failed “to close out the third set when [he] had a chance“.
Murray will now be featuring in the Masters tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati in the run up to Flushing Meadows.
Gabashvili hit 11 aces and had to break back at 5-4 down in the third set as Murray served for the match, before going on to win the tie-break.
Teymuraz Gabashvili celebrates after defeating Andy Murray in three sets at Rock Creek Tennis Center … “That cost me a lot tonight”.
“I was exhausted at the end because my body was really tired, but I learned to play good points and I learned to play aggressive, without any fear because you have to fight for every point”, said Gabashvili.
“But there are some things for me to improve and hopefully with a few more days and having that match under my belt I’ll be able to make some improvements for the next few weeks”. “I’m confident now and for sure this helped me in this match and also in the first round against Benjamin Becker, which was really hard”. The Scot constantly put the pressure on his opponent’s serve, with Gabashvili admittedly misfiring in the set, producing a number of unforced errors to squander opportunities and give Murray plenty instead. He had a break chance on Murray in the 10th game but sent a forehand volley long and two points later hit a backhand wide to hand the Scotsman the second set.
On Gabashvili’s third set point, he produced a down-the-line backhand victor to cap a 14-stroke exchange, then pounded his chest with his right fist twice while shouting “Come on!”
On the women’s side, Australian second seed Samantha Stosur, the 2011 US Open champion, advanced to a quarter-final with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over American Irina Falconi.
Next for Lopez is a match against Sam Groth, who beat Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4.
Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer outlasted Slovenian Blaz Rola 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, to reach a third-round matchup against Japanese second seed Kei Nishikori.
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But Alize Cornet, the fifth seed from France, lost 7-5 6-4 7-6 (7/4) to American wild card Louisa Chirico.
