World No 1 will be defending his title at the Rome Masters next week
Friday 12 May 2017 16:34, UK
Andy Murray admitted "I definitely think I need to be concerned" following his crushing 6-3 6-3 defeat to lucky loser Borna Coric at the Madrid Masters on Thursday.
Coric was only handed a late reprieve to enter the draw in Madrid after losing in qualifying to Mikhail Kukushkin and he swept aside a lacklustre Murray to reach the quarter-finals.
Murray cut a frustrated figure as he was dismantled by the 20-year-old Croatian for the second time in the pair's four meetings.
He was outplayed by his 59th-ranked opponent as he struggling on serve, whilst making 28 unforced errors, and the Scot, who turns 30 on Monday, admitted his discouraging performance was worrying.
"I didn't help myself find a way into the match to start playing better," said Murray. "I definitely think I need to be concerned about today.
"It's not always the worst thing losing a match, but it's sometimes the manner of how you lose the match is what can be concerning or disappointing."
Murray has won only one tournament in 2017 - in Dubai - and has failed to make it past the semi-finals in the three clay-court tournaments he has played.
He lost to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the third round in Monte Carlo after blowing a 4-0 lead in the deciding set, then was eliminated by Dominic Thiem at the semi-final stage in Barcelona.
Murray is expected to play in Rome next week, where he will be defending his title, before heading to the French Open, but he was optimistic about his chances of recovering from his recent struggles.
"You know, things can turn around quickly in tennis," he said. "Borna lost in the qualifying here a few days ago. Now he's in the quarters playing very good tennis. Things can change fast. But you need to have the right sort of ideas, correct ideas, understand why you're in the position you're in. Hopefully, I can do that, you know, with my team, and play better in Rome and Roland Garros."
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