Andy Murray was knocked out of the Barcelona Open in the second round 6-4 6-4 to former Wimbledon semi-finalist Mario Ancic of Croatia.

Seventh seed Murray, the highest-ranked player to go out of the claycourt tournament, could not find his rhythm in the match and succumbed.

"I really didn't get fired up," he said. "I was a bit flat at the start and didn't have the intensity of last week [at Monte Carlo]."

Murray was a late wildcard entrant in Barcelona. He lost to Novak Djokovic in the Masters tournament last week.

It was the third time he and Ancic had faced one another in 2008. Murray has won one, while the Croatian has now won two of those clashes.

Third seed David Nalbandian recovered from a shocking start to beat Argentine compatriot Agustin Calleri 1-6 7-6 6-3 and reach the third round.

Calleri, a semi-finalist here last year, raced through the first set in 26 minutes. Nalbandian served poorly and allowed his opponent, ranked 60, to take the initiative.

Nalbandian then squandered a 4-0 lead in the second set and was forced into a tiebreak which he won 7-2.

He broke the Calleri serve in the first game of the decider and repeated the feat in the ninth game to clinch victory.

He next meets 14th seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland or Kazakhstani lucky loser Yuri Schukin.

Guillermo Coria's struggle to regain top form after injury continued. He was beaten 5-7 6-4 6-4 by Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili in the first round.

The Argentine, runner-up at the French Open in 2004 but beset by shoulder problems since and playing with an injury-protected ranking of 105, led 4-2 in the decider but could not make the advantage tell against the world number 138.

Last month, Coria lost 6-0 4-6 6-0 to Italian Flavio Cipolla in a Challenger event in Naples but he said his performance against Gabashvili gave him encouragement.

"Today I went away satisfied, not like in Italy," he said. "There I felt ashamed for the people.

"[If I want to come back] I must be more humble, to accept where I am in the game. Before, I didn't enjoy my tennis. But it's different now."

Feliciano Lopez, the Spanish 16th seed, advanced when Argentine Jose Acasuso retired injured when trailing 5-2 in the first set.

His 10th-seeded compatriot Nicolas Almagro and Latvian Ernests Gulbis were also the beneficiaries of retirements by their opponents.

Reuters