Andy Murray says he should be concerned about his shock third-round defeat to lucky-loser Borna Coric at Madrid Open on Wednesday. However, the world number one believes he can put behind the poor start to 2017 and comeback stronger in Rome and Paris.
2016 runner-up Murray was stunned in straight sets by the 20-year-old Croatian player, who progressed to the main draw even after losing the qualifiers following Richard Gasquet's withdrawal from the tournament. Coric broke the Scot twice in the first set and he showed no signs of nerve in what was one of his biggest career wins.
Murray though had no answers to the onslaught from his young opponent, who made use of the early momentum to progress to the quarter-final. The 29-year-old's season has gone from bad to worse as he has been struggling to get back to peak form after recovering from an elbow injury.
Two early exits on the red dirt (Monte Carlo and Madrid) and problems with serves has got the numero uno thinking about what different he needs to do to get back to winning ways.
"I definitely think I need to be concerned about today. It is not always the worst thing losing a match, but it is sometimes the manner of how you lose the match that can be concerning or disappointing," Murray said, as quoted by ATP's official website.
"I was disappointed to lose my match against Thiem in Barcelona, but felt like I competed really well and did some good stuff in the match. Today, I didn't really do any of that."
Murray needs to buckle up if he is to retain his spot at the top of ATP world rankings as the other three of the Big Four - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal - are progressing well to cut down the gap at the top.
The three-time Grand Slam winner's fine run on clay last year began at Madrid Masters and continued to Rome and then to Paris. Despite facing early troubles this season, the Scot takes inspiration from his yesterday's opponent and believes that he can find form in the upcoming tournaments.
"Borna lost in the qualifying here a few days ago. Now he is in the quarters playing very good tennis. Things can change fast. But you need to have the correct ideas and understand why you are in the position you're in. Hopefully I can do that with my team, and play better in Rome and Roland Garros," Murray added.
