Mardy Fish handed first-round loss in Atlanta

The first stop of Mardy Fish’s farewell tour ended quickly with a 6-4, 6-4 first-round loss to Israel’s Dudi Sela in the Atlanta Open on Tuesday.

Fish said it was a success just to play only his second competitive match of the year. He recently announced he will retire after the U.S. Open, and he also disclosed details of his battles with anxiety disorder.

Fifth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus earlier downed America’s Austin Krajicek 6-4, 6-0, while No. 6 seed Steve Johnson of the United States ground out a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-2 victory over Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko.

In other first-round matches, Benjamin Becker beat fellow German Michael Berrer, who retired at the start of the second set while trailing 7-5, Denis Kudla came back to beat fellow-American Ryan Harrison 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), Australia’s Sam Groth defeated American Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (3), 6-4 and Jared Donaldson of the United States had a hard-fought 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win over Somdev Devvarman.

Fish, who won the Atlanta tournament in 2010 and 2011, also will play doubles this week with his friend Andy Roddick, who is taking a break from his retirement.

The 33-year-old Fish says he wished he could have played better but added “It’s just nice to finish on my own terms.”

Fish also plans to play in Cincinnati before the U.S. Open.