AP, Atlanta :
The first stop of Mardy Fish’s farewell tour ended quickly with a 6-4, 6-4 first-round loss to Israel’s Dudi Sela in the Atlanta Open on Tuesday.
Fish said it was a success just to play only his second competitive match of the year. He recently announced he will retire after the U.S. Open, and he also disclosed details of his battles with anxiety disorder.
Fifth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus earlier downed America’s Austin Krajicek 6-4, 6-0, while No. 6 seed Steve Johnson of the United States ground out a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-2 victory over Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko.
In other first-round matches, Benjamin Becker beat fellow German Michael Berrer, who retired at the start of the second set while trailing 7-5, Denis Kudla came back to beat fellow-American Ryan Harrison 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), Australia’s Sam Groth defeated American Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (3), 6-4 and Jared Donaldson of the United States had a hard-fought 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win over India’s Somdev Devvarman.
