After yesterday's display it was hard to believe that Andy could play any worse but he managed it comfortably with a display packed full of double faults, unforced errors and play so timid that Davydenko controlled virtually every rally, pushing Murray from side to side until there was space for the winner.

The opening game was a shocker with Andy double faulting three times and allowing Davydenko to dominate each time he missed his first serve. He saved one break point with an unreturned first serve but double fault number three and an unforced error from Murray gave Davydenko the early break.

A couple of errors from the russian presented Murray with an opening at 0-30 but a successful challenge from the number six seed made it 30-30 and he went on to hold. Andy still hadn't woken up, a poor smash presented Davydenko with the chance to pass and a double fault handed him a two break lead. Errors from Davydenko gave Andy an opportunity to recover one of the breaks but twice he dominated long rallies with Murray unable to come up with a big shot when he needed it.

Andy finally started to play more aggressively but missed the target by small margins as he conceded another break then couldn't take a break point opportunity as Davydenko served out the match.

While clearly Davydenko is a tough opponent for Murray at the moment, his athleticism and consistency proving too much for Andy in their two meetings, the tactics employed by the scot have done little to help his cause. Murray didn't bother to hit the ball with any power until the match was almost over. He decided not to come into the net, instead believing that he could win the match on the defensive, six feet behind the baseline. If they played ten times using the same approach, it would be surprising if Andy won more than one match.

Going back to events in the Australian Open where Andy raged against being directed to play more aggressively than he was comfortable with, during his comprehensive defeat against Chela, it is evident that Andy sees himself as a counter attacking player, while his coaches recognise that at the top of the game attack beats defence more times than not. In recent interviews Murrray has outlined how his game needs to develop, being more aggressive on his groundstrokes, coming to the net to finish the points, so he has begun to take onboard the message from Gilbert, and indeed from Petchey, but on court he's still not that confident in his ability to land big shots and while he delivered against Gonzalez, he wasn't prepared to take the fight to Davydenko.

In time Andy will be a class act, he has the talent, the self-belief that he belongs at the top of the game and he thrives on the big stage. But right now he's missing several pieces of the jigsaw and while a semi-final spot appeared a real possibility given his recent form, it was perhaps too big an ask to expect him to sustain his peak form over tough five sets against opponents who understand his strengths and weaknesses.

So a great summer for Andy ends with a very disappointing defeat in which his talent was never on view. Davydenko was impressive at times, especially in the first set, but overall his display was competent rather than spectacular. As for Murray, competent is the last word you'd use to his describe his performance - his own running commentary was not at all complimentary; on this occasion he talked a better game than he played.