There were first-round exits for South African tennis duo Kevin Anderson and Lloyd Harris at the ATP 500-level event in Washington on Tuesday.Anderson, a former US Open and Wimbledon finalist, was beaten 6-4, 6-7 (7/1), 6-1 by Australia's Jordan Thompson.Anderson, 37, was handed a wild card at the Citi Open after recently coming out of retirement.
He had reached the quarter-finals of the grass-court Hall of Fame Open last month. It was a competitive opening two sets, but the South African fell away in the final set.
Thompson won 56 percent of points behind his second serve, compared to Anderson's 40 percent. He also matched the tall South African in the aces department, as both men hit 15 aces.Meanwhile, Harris went down to Japanese lucky loser Sho Shimabukuro, 6-4, 6-3.
Harris was slated to play Kei Nishikori of Japan, but the former world No 4 withdrew with a left knee injury shortly before the match.