Almagro ends Murray's hopes

Murray: Beaten in four sets

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Andy Murray's French Open campaign came to an end with a 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-5 defeat to Nicolas Almagro in the third round.

The Spaniard's pedigree on clay saw him come out as the winner after a competitive match played out in perfect sunshine in Paris.

Having turned in contrasting performances in his first two matches, Murray knew only his very best would be enough to see him through to the last 16.

After falling a set behind the British number one battled back to level matters and looked to be on top midway through the third.

However, Almagro found another gear to seize control, going on to finally seal his progression to the next round after two hours and 48 minutes on court number seven.

Power

The 19th seed's power from the back of the court was evident from the very outset when he broke at the very first opportunity.

Murray fell 0-30 down on his own serve again in the eighth game but managed to keep the set alive, albeit only for only one more game as his rival went 1-0 ahead on his second set point.

Despite the disappointment of falling behind, Murray made sure he didn't make the same mistake in the second set as he had done in the first, holding his first service game comfortably enough.

Using serve-volley tactics, something not often seen on such a slow surface, Murray came close to breaking Almagro in the fourth game before the set eventually went to a tiebreak.

Impressive

After a switch of ends with the score at 3-3, the 10th seed suddenly came out all guns blazing, reeling off an impressive four straight points to make it one set apiece, much to the delight of his fan club at Roland Garros.

With his tail up Murray did not take long to wrestle the advantage in the third set, breaking his opponent for the first time in the contest to go 2-1 ahead.

But the lead did not last too long. Almagro sprung to life with two successive breaks that helped him move back ahead.

A fifth straight game for the 22-year-old gave him the early edge in the fourth set and although Murray finally ended the streak by holding his serve, he looked a beaten man.

To his credit he fought hard until the very end, even breaking Almagro to stay alive at five all before the man from Murcia finally killed him off at the second attempt.