tennis

Ramos-Vinolas loses early again, this time at Geneva Open

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:26 p.m. ET

GENEVA (AP) A slump in form for Albert Ramos-Vinolas that started after he was a surprise Monte Carlo Masters finalist continued on Wednesday with a second-round defeat at the Geneva Open.

The third-seeded Spaniard lost 7-5, 6-1 to Andrey Kuznetsov, a Russian ranked No. 85.

Ramos-Vinolas has struggled since beating top-ranked Andy Murray en route to being runner-up at Monte Carlo to Rafael Nadal last month. The 20th-ranked Spaniard has now lost to lower-ranked opponents in his opening match at three straight tournaments.

Top-seeded Stan Wawrinka had an easier time on a day of short matches and player withdrawals.

Wawrinka began his Geneva title defense with a 37-minute spell on court, leading 5-2 before Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil retired with an ankle injury.

In Thursday's quarterfinals, Wawrinka will play sixth-seeded Sam Querrey of the United States. Querrey took just 48 minutes to complete a 6-2, 6-3 win over 84th-ranked Franko Skugor of Croatia.

Another American, fifth-seeded Steve Johnson, needed 51 minutes to beat Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-1, 6-3.

John Isner, who played the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon in 2010, was on court for exactly two hours Wednesday in a losing cause.

The fourth-seeded American was beaten 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 by Mischa Zverev of Germany, a qualifier ranked No. 33, who held serve throughout. Zverev next plays Johnson.

The quarterfinals lineup was completed by No. 314 Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany. The lucky loser in qualifying advanced when Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia retired citing illness with the score 6-4, 0-1.

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