Andy Murray suffers defeat to Fabio Fognini in the Italian Open

Andy Murray suffered a bitter setback in his hopes of clinching a seeded spot for Wimbledon on Wednesday night, losing to Fabio Fognini.

The Scotsman could not back up his title win in Aix-en-Provence and crashed out of the Italian Open to his old foe.

Both 35, the two have a rivalry dating back to their early years on the circuit, and the Italian won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

It was the first time that Murray had lost a match in which he has forced a deciding set in 2023, having previously held a record of nine such wins.

The pair put in a good battle, with Murray showing frustrations at umpire Mohamed Lahyani in a tight first set which Fognini won.

The British star now stands less of a chance at securing a seeded place at Wimbledon this year

Murray looked better in the second set and raced into a 4-0 lead, with Fognini seeming to be struggling with a slight injury.

But in front of a home crowd, Fognini rallied in the final set and started it with a break of Murray’s serve. The Brit was evidently starting to tire after his exerts last week.

Murray’s ranking puts him at risk of missing a seeded spot at Wimbledon, with the French Open kicking off at the end of May.

Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula has criticised Madrid Open organisers after a ‘sexism row’ that saw her and fellow doubles finalists not allowed to make presentation speeches — despite male counterparts being invited to do so.

Italian player Fognini bested the Scotsman 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in an intense battle at Aix-en-Provence