(Reuters) – Andy Murray saw signs of progress during an up-and-down grasscourt season which came to an end with a 7-5 6-4 quarter-final defeat to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik at Newport, Rhode Island on Friday.
The 35-year-old three-times Grand Slam winner had reached the semi-finals of the challenger event on grass in Surbiton before defeating Bublik, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios en route to finishing runner-up at the ATP 250 event in Stuttgart.
However, he bowed out in the second round of Wimbledon, where he won titles in 2013 and 2016, after a four-set defeat to John Isner.
“The grasscourt season as a whole there were some good moments, but also some tough ones,” Murray said.
“Today’s match and the loss at Wimbledon were disappointing and frustrating for me, but then I also had my best wins in a while in Stuttgart.
“So a bit up and down, but a little bit of progress overall and I’ll try and keep that going through the hard-court summer.”
Former world number one Murray has struggled with a string of injuries in the past few years and is currently ranked 52nd.
The Briton is aiming to get back among the seeds at the Grand Slams as he tries to return to the top echelons of the sport.
“It was disappointing,” Murray said of his latest defeat. “(The) first set came down to a couple of points and then I had a few opportunities in the second. But I thought he played a pretty solid match.
“(I want) to continue to improve. If I keep seeing progress I’ll continue to keep playing.”
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Peter Rutherford)
