A routine win for italian Filippo Volandri against a below par Murray in the opening round of the Rome Masters event. In the slower evening conditions it was consistency that determined the outcome; the reliable groundstrokes belonged to Volandri, and though Andy hit some stunning winners, there were never quite enough to make the match competitive.

The contest began with an exchange of breaks of serve. Missed first serves, a double fault then a superb volley on the stretch brought Volandri the opening break. A couple of forehands narrowly wide presented Murray with two break points; he needed just one: a huge double-handed backhand winner down the line offered hope. The following game Filippo wasted a total of three break points in a desperately poor game from both players. At 2-1 Murray produced some outstanding tennis including a superb forehand combination and a couple of piercing backhands, yet failed to break as Volandri came up with two great plays from deuce to hold.

Serving at 2-2  Murray gifted the initiative to his opponent, double faulting and missing first serves to allow Volandri to break for a 2-3 lead. Both players then held comfortably for 3-4. In a competitive eighth game a forehand winner and beautiful angled drop shot gave Andy a 0-30 lead only for errors to take Volandri to 40-30 but Murray fought back, driving a fierce double-handed backhand down the line to break back for 4-4.

Murray's first serve deserted him when he needed it most. Harmless second serves neither wide nor kicking high enough to trouble, allowed Volandri to dominate. Another double fault; this time at 15-40 and Volandri was serving for the first set. Andy came up with a drop shot and yet another backhand down the line to recover to 30-30 but an attempted repeat was just wide and Filippo had the first set.

At the start of the second set Andy appeared unsettled, annoyed with his inability to control his shots; wild errors gifting an early break to the italian. Filippo held comfortably for 2-0, Andy survived for 2-1 then took advantage of a double fault with another double-handed backhand on break point to even up the set. 2-2 became 3-3 and at 30-0 Andy looked in reasonable shape. Four points later he was behind again. Despite a few more stunning shots, Andy never did enough to threaten as Volandri eased home.

Throughout Volandri looked the more accomplished player on clay; his serve was solid if unspectacular, he made good use of the angles: sending Murray out of court on the forehand was a regular feature, and came up with stunning top spin backhand passing shots whenever Murray attacked the net. He pressed with aggressive forehands, taking advantage of weak mid court forehands from the brit to strike clean winners. Indeed the Volandri top spin forehand was the match's decisive shot, constructing points with consistent depth, angles, and enough pace to force errors from Murray in the majority of the longer rallies.

In contrast Andy will have been disappointed by an erratic performance that lacked the solid foundation needed for success on a slower surface. In a year of poor serving displays the first set was hardly unusual but it was still desperately poor; only 41% of first serves in play and even those were more of the gentle pace variety. Double faults at crucial times cost him break after break. By the second set aggressive serving had gone out the window.

For all his range of shots Andy failed to construct enough points in his favour. Intelligent clay court serving was notable through its absence. No sign of the smart plays so often employed by experienced clay courters such as wide serves followed by wrong footing shots or big forehands into the space. Sliced backhands failed to bite into the surface, groundstrokes lacked power and depth. Aggressive returning on second serve was the right approach but the accuracy was missing. Opportunities to come to the net to volley floating balls were neglected. Drop shots worked most of the time though more through Volandri's mistakes. But the match's standard rally had Filippo dictating with deep forehands, Murray defending for a while behind the baseline, before failing to clear the net.

And yet prospective coaches watching this match might well have left thinking to themselves that here was a player who should make at least one Roland Garros final during the course of his career; for the Murray double-handed backhand down the line is some shot. The sudden acceleration penetrating the gap left by opponents caught as they attempt to recover position having run around their own backhand. On the night, despite a stream of winners, the accuracy wasn't quite consistent enough to compensate for the rest of his game. Though the potential is clear: this is a devastating weapon that will win crucial points in tight matches on the clay.

Even the forehand had its moments, especially when he was prepared to be aggressive, striking early to take control. A shot that might be a weak link at the moment but with the right guidance could soon become the source of many winners. A little more conviction, more pace and greater depth on the forehand might give Andy control of rallies, changing the outcome of points, games and perhaps matches.

But all that is in the future because right now, without a functioning serve, lacking a sense of when to approach the net, and content to hit uncompetitive midcourt forehands that get what they deserve, Andy is someway short of beating solid clay court specialists like Volandri.