Andy Murray suffers defeat as he steps up preparations for next month's US Open

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Andy Murray’s preparations for the restart of the professional tour ended in defeat as the former world No 1 and his rookie partner, Jodie Burrage, were beaten in the mixed doubles at the Battle of the Brits team tournament in Roehampton. Murray and Burrage, the world No 289 who made her mark earlier in the week by defeating Jo Konta, lost 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 against Joe Salisbury and Emma Raducanu. The latter pair’s victory extended the British Bulldogs lead to 18-8 by the end of the second day of the event. Murray is intending to travel to the United States to compete at next month’s US Open in New York, along with a warm-up event in the week before the grand slam. The Scot, who underwent major surgery on his hip, has not played on the ATP Tour since winning the European Open last November. Earlier, Konta went some way to making up for losing her first competitive match since lockdown by defeating Katie Boulter despite going a set and a double break down. The British No 1 looked set to make it two losses in a row, winning only four points on her first serve in the opening set, losing it 6-2. Boulter, who won the LTA’s Progress Tour earlier this month, looked to be cruising to a victory at 3-0 up in the second set, but 29-year-old Konta staged a remarkable comeback, winning five games in a row and forcing a tiebreak thanks to a swiftly improved serve. Unable to stop her Fed Cup team-mate’s momentum, Boulter lost the second set after sending a backhand wide and bounced her racket to the ground in frustration, adding a more competitive edge to the tie. Konta kept her level during the shortened decider, which is being played as a 10-point tiebreaker at the team tournament, and wrapped up an impressive win, 2-6, 7-6, 10-6. “It’s not what it would feel like at a Grand Slam or WTA event but it was good to give us both of us the chance to get those competitive juices and pretend we’re somewhere else,” Konta said after beating 23-year-old Boulter. “She started very well but I improved as the match went on and by the end we were playing some great tennis. “These are my first competitive matches since the beginning of March so it is going to take time. I was in a good mindset and I stayed in each point and gave myself the best chance.” Union Jacks’ Dan Evans defeated Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-4 in a match that led to an exchange of words at the end of the game. Evans was upset with the force at which Edmund touched his racket – a gesture which has replaced the handshake. But Edmund played the incident down. “He said he misinterpreted touching the rackets and stuff,” Edmund said. “There was nothing there. The racket touch is not that a big a deal. It is not like you are just going to play to get the practice, you are playing to win.”

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