• Rome Masters

Murray out after Ferrer masterclass

Andy Murray ponders his fourth defeat in five matches © Getty Images

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Andy Murray missed out on the chance to move up to No. 4 in the world as he slipped to a fourth defeat in five matches against Spaniard David Ferrer.

The Scot never looked comfortable against his opponent's clay-court skills and toiled to 3-6 4-6 loss. Murray would have been hoping for a better run at the Rome Masters in preparation for next month's French Open, but will have to re-asses his game, and in particular his first-serve, after another promising week ended in disappointment.

Murray, the fourth-seed for the event, came into the match with renewed confidence after he banished a three-match losing run by defeating Andreas Seppi. During that contest, the World No. 5 played with a fluency that has eluded him of late as he overwhelmed his opponent.

It was set to be a more arduous test against Ferrer, who has won more games on clay this year than anyone else on the ATP Tour. Their only previous meeting on the red surface, in Canada in 2006, went the way of the Spaniard over two one-sided sets. Clay has never been Murray's favoured surface, as his Rome record - two wins from six matches - would testify. No surprise, then, that his pre-match rhetoric hinted he was not expecting to produce a performance that would send out an ominous message to the rest of the field.

"The only important thing is winning," Murray said. "In all sports, you've got to win - it's not about how you look or how good you play."

This assertion looked far from Murray's thoughts as he struggled to deal with the beautifully carved angles of Ferrer's forehand. The Spaniard broke Murray's serve in the fifth game and served solidly to take the first set 6-3.

Murray fared much better in the second set and broke his opponent at the first time of asking to lead 2-0. Ferrer punched right back to level and, after several tight service games for both players, broke the Murray serve again to steal the advantage.

The Scot, to his credit, continued to battle and threatened to break back immediately. Ferrer quelled the any chance of comeback with two superb forehand winners and held on to seal the second set and the match to set-up a quarter-final clash with Jo Wilfried-Tsonga.

Despite the defeat, an upbeat Murray was insistent that his form was returning. "This week I felt so much better than I did in Monte Carlo," Murray said. "I thought it was a good match of a high standard with a lot of good points.

"The only disappointing thing was that I wasn't able to create more break-point opportunities. That's normally one of the best parts of my game.

"But, in terms of striking the ball, it was way, way better than in the last two tournaments. I was much happier today with the way I chased balls down. I just didn't do the basics as well as I would have liked."

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