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Dismal Murray dumped out of Monte Carlo Masters

Andy Murray reacts in frustration © Getty Images

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Andy Murray's poor run of form continued as he was dumped out of the Monte Carlo Masters at the second-round stage by Philipp Kohlschreiber, who won 6-2 6-1.

World No. 4 Murray took a wildcard entry into the tournament in a bid to improve his performance level, but an upturn in fortunes does not appear imminent if this display is any indicator.

He has now exited at the first hurdle in his two most recent tournaments, and has won four of eight matches since reaching the Australian Open final in January.

Murray looked completely devoid of any rhythm in the first set as he played a range of wafted, cautious strokes that were pounced upon by Kohlschreiber. Murray appeared reluctant to take the game to his opponent, preferring instead to play a variety of slices from the baseline.

For all the faults in his groundstrokes, Murray's inability to land his first serves was causing him the greatest harm. He was accurate with a mere 40% of his first deliveries as Kohlschreiber was able to claim two first-set breaks.

Normally such a fiery on-court character, Murray cut a subdued figure when he emerged for the second set - his movement was laboured, while his shots lacked conviction. Kohlschreiber was able to take advantage of his opponent's malaise, claiming three breaks and winning 85% of the points on his first serve.

As he headed toward defeat at the end of the second set, it was apparent that Murray was willing the match to be over as soon as was possible. He got his wish - the contest, his first on clay this season, spanned just 63 minutes in its entirety.

"I just couldn't find the court. When it's like that, it's kind of difficult to play," Murray said. "I tried a few different things. I tried serve and volleying a couple of times, I tried hitting some high balls. Didn't make a whole lot of difference.

"The last two tournaments have been bad. It's been a long time since I lost a couple of matches like this. I have to make sure that I don't panic."

Kohlschreiber claimed that Murray was overwhelmed by the spin that he was imparting on the ball. "I played an almost perfect match from beginning to end," he said to Sky Sports. "I made not many mistakes and produced a lot of power in my game. It is very tough to play against me today, maybe he doesn't like the high spin, I think he really didn't know what to do."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.