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Andy Murray
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Bernd Weissbrod / dpa
Two-time tennis Olympic champion Andy Murray lost the final in Stuttgart against Italian Matteo Berrettini 4: 6, 7: 5, 3: 6.
The 35-year-old Briton, who plays with an artificial hip, narrowly missed out on his first grass title since winning Wimbledon in 2016.
For Murray it was the 70th final on the ATP tour, he won 46 of them.
Berrettini, last year's Wimbledon finalist, triumphed for the second time after 2019 in Stuttgart.
For the 26-year-old it was the comeback tournament, because of a hand injury he had skipped the clay court season.
“I couldn't have imagined that.
It feels great," said Berrettini about his success and also thought of his opponent: "Congratulations to Andy, great tournament."
Murray, who had to be treated in the meantime, missed the culmination of a strong week at Weissenhof, in which he defeated the top seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and in a scandalous semi-final Nick Kyrgios (7: 6, 6: 2).
Murray with health problems
Berrettini converted his second match point after 2:40 hours.
However, Murray was clearly struck in the third set.
The two-time Wimbledon champion complained of complaints in the groin and abdominal muscles and was about to give up.
In the semifinals, Berrettini prevailed against Cologne's Oscar Otte.
The 26-year-old crowned his comeback by winning the tournament.
The number ten in the world had had to pause since mid-March due to an operation on his right hand.
Berrettini was initially the dominant player on Center Court.
He managed an early break, which he didn't give up in the course of the first set.
But Murray improved in the second round and, somewhat surprisingly, managed to equalize the set.
But then the former number one in the world was injured and could only continue playing with severe pain.
ara/dpa/sid
