World number one Andy Murray is unsure what caused his recent slump after his Italian Open title defence ended with a 6-2 6-4 defeat by home favourite Fabio Fognini in the second round.
Murray had his most successful season on clay last year, winning one out of three finals, but has seen his fortunes on the surface reverse with the loss to Fognini marking three unsuccessful clay tournaments in a row.
โI wasnโt creating enough chances on my own,โ Murray was quoted by the ATP website (www.atpworldtour.com).
โNormally during matches your opponent might give you a few opportunities with some errors, and obviously you hope to create a few yourself. That certainly wasnโt the case today. The only chance I really got was when he was making errors.โ
Murray has won one out of seven tournaments this season, exiting in the Round of 16 or earlier in four of those. He was eliminated in the semi-finals at the Barcelona Open and his only title win was at the Dubai Open in March.
The 30-year-old was particularly unhappy with his movement on the court.
โMovement the last two weeks has not been good,โ Murray said.
โMy movement has been a big help, the last couple of years, but certainly the last couple of weeks, thatโs been a problem. So I need to address that.โ
The Briton also said his number one ranking had nothing to do with his performances.
โIโm just not playing well and I donโt think itโs to do with my ranking,โ Murray added.
Next up for Murray is the French Open that starts next week.
