Nadal gives Murray birthday bashing

Last Modified: 16 May 2008
Source: ITN

Happy returns were few and far between for Andy Murray as he was beaten in straight sets by Rafael Nadal on his 21st birthday.

The Spaniard gave a demonstration of why he is the undisputed king of clay by demolishing the British number one 6-3 6-2 at the Hamburg Masters.

Murray, seeded 15th in the world, appeared to be troubled by a left knee problem and had no answer to his opponent's fearsome and unerringly accurate hitting in the early stages.

The Scot showed flashes of the form that saw him dispose of Dmitry Tursunov and Gilles Simon earlier this week but the pressure from the world number two was relentless.

The Spaniard had a first match point on Murray's serve in the eighth, and although that was saved, a forehand into the net put an end to Murray's preparations for Roland Garros.

Nadal, who has now won all three of the pair's meetings, will face compatriot Carlos Moya in the quarter-finals.

Title holder Roger Federer coasted to a 6-3 6-2 win over Robin Soderling to set up a quarter-final against unseeded Fernando Verdasco.

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