SA duo Anderson, Harris suffer early exits at ATP event in Washington

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. This allowed Shimabukuro to enter the main draw after losing in qualifying.

Lucky Loser ?? Worthy WinnerSho Shimabukuro takes full advantage of Nishikori's withdrawal and defeats Harris 6-4, 6-3 to move on to R2#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/ufVfdtNDdm

Nishikori, 33, returned to competition from a 20-month injury absence in June, winning a low-tier Challenger Tour title in Puerto Rico before reaching the quarter-finals last week in Atlanta in his first ATP tournament since 2021.

Nishikori said he had experienced knee pain in Atlanta, and after testing the knee on Tuesday, decided that he was "not good enough to play."