Andy Murray's run at the Gijon Open came to an end in the quarter-finals as he suffered a three-set defeat to the USA's Sebastian Korda.
The 35-year-old overcame Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Pedro Cachin en route to the last eight but fell to a 6-4 1-6 6-1 defeat to Korda in Friday's contest.
Korda squandered three break points in the third game of the match before taking his fourth, and he broke once more before Murray managed to return the favour when the American was serving for the set.
Korda then missed a further two chances to break for a third time as Murray held for 4-5, but the Brit could not find his way back into the first set, which Korda sealed with an ace.
However, the three-time major winner rolled back the years in a barnstorming second set, surging into a 4-0 lead and saving two break points to move a game away from levelling things up.
It took Murray just 48 minutes to wrap up the second set and force a decider, but he could not keep the momentum going, and it was Korda's turn to go 4-0 up in the third set.
Murray was on the verge of sealing a love hold in the fourth game before Korda managed to earn the double break, and the 22-year-old held to love one last time to seal victory in two hours and 27 minutes.
Korda's reward for beating Murray is a semi-final showdown against France's Arthur Rinderknech, and either Dominic Thiem or top seed Andrey Rublev will meet the victor of that contest in the final.
Ben Knapton
