Andy Murray falls at first hurdle in Stuttgart as grass season gets off to sluggish start, Alexander Zverev withdraws – Eurosport

Andy Murray admitted his “game needs to improve” after his grass-court season got off to a disappointing start as he lost in straight sets to Marcos Giron in the first round of the Stuttgart Open.

Murray failed to break the American’s serve in either set as he suffered a fourth consecutive tour-level match loss, a run stretching back to the Miami Open in March.

And he admitted that the lack of threat coming from his once-feared return game is a cause for concern.

“I’ve been struggling with breaking serve. I’ve not broken for a few matches and that’s usually been a strength of mine,” said Murray.

“On a quick surface like grass, the sets are tight. When your chances come you have to be clinical – he was and I wasn’t.”

Murray added: “My game needs to improve, the level of tennis on the tour is high. I need to play better if I want to win more matches.”

But Murray said it wasn’t all bad news, with his body feeling in good condition ahead of a busy summer.

“I’ve had some tough months, but physically I feel OK just now – the ankle, the back. It’s all felt better since going onto grass,” he said.

Murray will now turn his attention to Queen’s, where the record five-time champion will look to make his mark on home soil before Wimbledon kicks off on July 1.

Both players had to see off early break opportunities as the opening exchanges remained on serve.

But Giron put his foot on the throttle midway through the first set, landing three consecutive aces for a hold before breaking Murray and consolidating with a love hold for a 5-2 lead.

The Scot responded with a love hold of his own and then showed a glimpse of hope when a superb return saved set point to force deuce, but the American kept his cool to serve out the opener in 39 minutes.

Murray got off to a promising start in set two as he teed up two break points in Giron’s opening service game, but the 30-year-old saw them both off before holding with an ace.

He followed that up by earning three break points, and a double fault from Murray surrendered the ultimately decisive break.

The German explained that fatigue led to his decision and he will be replaced by Richard Gasquet in the draw, who faces Brandon Nakashima in the second round.

“I have played a lot of tennis in the last few weeks and reached the final in Paris, where I played five tough sets,” Zverev said.

“I feel that my body is not ready to go from clay to grass now.”