Andy Murray let slip a one-set lead to lose 1-6 6-3 6-4 to Radek Stepanek in the third round of the ATP Paris Masters.
British number one fades badly after taking opening set in 20 minutes
Andy Murray let slip a one-set lead against Radek Stepanek to crash out of the Paris Masters.
The world number four slipped to a 1-6 6-3 6-4 defeat in the third-round clash despite taking the opening set in just 20 minutes.
Stepanek battled back to take his first set off Murray in the fourth meeting of the pair and then, with two breaks of serve, surged 5-2 ahead in the decider.
Despite a late wobble, the Czech managed to serve out for the match at the second attempt and book his place in the quarter-finals, where he will face Juan Martin Del Potro.
Late finish
Murray's cause was not helped by a late night in the French capital, the Scot not finishing his second-round match with James Blake until shortly before 2am, meaning he was back out on court again just 14 hours later.
There seemed to be no signs of fatigue in the opening set, though, as the British number one dominated proceedings.
A superb lob clinched a second successive break to make it 4-0 and it took Stepanek until the sixth game to hold serve, although by then the damage had been done.
However, having served out for a 1-0 lead, Murray's play went from inspired to insipid, starting with his opening service game in the second set that he lost despite at one stage being 40-15 up.
Stepanek managed to hang onto the advantage to force a third set, which started with an immediate break again for the 13th seed.
Murray, who triumphed in Valencia last week, fell further behind when he lost his serve again in the seventh game, a double fault putting him a double break down and summing up his lacklustre display.
Although he quickly gained a game back Stepanek regained his composure in his next service game to seal an impressive win on his second match point.
Verdasco defeated
Elsewhere in the same half of the draw, Fernando Verdasco, who currently occupies the eighth and final spot for the ATP Tour World Finals, also let slip a lead as he was went down 3-6 6-3 6-4 to Marin Cilic.
Defeat for the Spaniard meant he must now hope Robin Soderling fails to reach the final in Paris, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga would snatch the final berth for London by successfully defending his title on home soil.
Nikolay Davydenko is certain of a place in the season-ending tournament despite losing his
third-round clash to Soderling.
Meanwhile, Croatian Cilic will next face Gael Monfils, who ended the giantkilling run of fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau.
Having toppled top seed Roger Federer in the last round, Benneteau was unable to hit the same heights as he suffered a 6-4 6-3 loss to his compatriot.
The final match on court on Thursday saw Del Potro survive a scare against Fernando Gonzalez, who failed to take any of his seven match points against the US Open champion.
The Chilean saw his hopes of qualifying for the season-ending Tour Finals come to a disappointing end when he was forced to retire through injury.
His decision came shortly after Del Potro had somehow survived to take the second set on a tie-break, the first having gone to his opponent in the same manner.
