Andy Murray's preparations for Wimbledon suffered a blow when the Briton was beaten in his opening match at the Queen's Club tournament by Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.
The Scot, defending champion at the grasscourt event, never looked comfortable on the centre court and went out 6-3 6-7 7-6 and said it was too early to be on top form in a difference surface.
"I mean, there is no need for me to panic. You know I lost the match 7-6 in the third (set) the first round of the tournament but it takes a little bit of time to adapt to the grass courts," Murray said
Mahut, the 2008 finalist, raced through the third-set tiebreak, taking the first six points to win 7-1.
The Frenchman will now play Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov while Murray, the world number four, must find another way to prepare for the start of Wimbledon on June 25.
Reuters