Andy Murray continued to struggle for form as he went down 4-6, 4-6 to Fernando Verdasco in the opening round in Cologne on Tuesday.
This defeat comes close on heels of his surprisingly tame show at the French Open, when he lost 1-6, 3-6, 2-6 against former champion Stan Wawrinka in the first round.
ALSO READ: Ilya Ivashka has a meltdown over game penalty
“I need to get back to playing my game on the court,” admitted Murray, who had beaten Verdasco in 13 of their previous 14 meetings.
“I have gone away from that a little bit and am making more mistakes than usual. I need to practise, play matches and physically get better.”
Sharpen your backhand with our FREE guide
“Some things I did a little bit better but overall it was not that much better than that match,” said the 33-year-old Scot, comparing it to his French Open performance.
It’s a surface that I’m a little bit more comfortable on, so that probably helped me. But in terms of my game, it was not much better.”
ALSO READ: ‘Ambitious’ Goran Ivanisevic made to eat humble pie
It has been a tough ask for former World No 1 Murray, who has struggled to come back to his physical game after the two hip surgeries. His game came under scrutiny after the clay-court major, which he had entered as a wildcard.
“I worry about Andy Murray,” former Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander had said.
ALSO READ: Andy Murray joins ATP Player Council
“I would love to hear him say why he is out there, giving us a false sense of hope that he going to come back one day.
“I keep getting a little bit disappointed, is it his right to be out there doing that? Why? I did it and I shouldn’t have, it was the biggest mistake I did in my career.
ALSO READ: To share the record with Federer is beautiful: Nadal
“I think Andy Murray needs to stop thinking of himself and start thinking about who he was. Does he have a right to be out there taking wildcards from the young players?”
