Sam Groth has been bumped out in the first round of the Citi Open in Washington, losing a tight clash 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5) to American Brian Baker.
The Australian was dominant on his own serve, but unable to break Baker’s serve, which has been the case for much of the year as Groth slipped down the rankings and away from the success he has had over the last couple of years.
Groth sent down 18 aces – double the amount by Baker, and did not face one break point in the match, however he won just 22 points on return of serve, which is a horrific number.
It continues a horror year for 28-year-old, whose ATP Tour record has now dropped to 4-13 and he has dropped 101 rankings places since August last year to No.154, putting him in grave danger of missing the US Open or having to qualify.
Fellow-Australians John Millman, James Duckworth and Jordan Thompson each progressed to the second round of the tournament on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), while Bernard Tomic had a first-round bye due to his high seeding at the event.