After losing the first set 3-6, Richard abandonned his match against Kristof Vliegen in the first round of Washington. According to the tournament site the reason was a back injury.
The match was neither streamed nor televised, but it is not hard to imagine that Richard was not 100 % as already could be seen in the Gstaad finals. He was 0-4 down in less than 20 minutes, but managed to avoid a straight beatdown. Richard was in a difficult situation in Washington, he had recieved the last wild-card from the organisers.
He is scheduled to play Toronto next week, where he achievd direct entry.
