ANDY Murray missed out on a place in the men’s singles final at the Barcelona Open when he lost a brutal semi-final battle with Dominic Thiem.

The Austrian faces Rafa Nadal for the title today, after the Spaniard defeated Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4.

Murray dragged himself back into the match after a slow start, which looked set at one stage to condemn him to a swift defeat. However, Thiem went on to clinch a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win in two hours and 15 minutes.

“In the first set, I didn’t have many chances, but I started to play better in the second,” Murray said. “It was quite windy out there and difficult to get into a rhythm. He started to hit the ball pretty hard and was pushing me back.

“When the conditions are like that, it’s important to be the one dictating the points. I started to do a better job of that, but in that last game I missed a couple of shots I shouldn’t have.”

A day after needing a final-set tie-break to see off Albert Ramos-Vinolas in just shy of three hours, the Scot endured another gruelling work-out. He was outclassed in the first set, but dug in during the second as he grew into the contest and levelled the match with a single break of serve. He was a break up and then down by one in the third as both players proved near impossible to shake off, but fourth seed Thiem prevailed to claim his third British scalp of the week after knocking out Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans.

“It is the first win [over a world No 1], so it is really something special, but it is also the first win over a top-10 guy this season,” Thiem said. “There are many positive things to take from today’s match. For me personally, it’s the best victory this year so far.”

Murray, who went out in the third round at Monte Carlo last week, was happy enough with his performances in Barcelona.

“I got three matches in three days against all different players,” he said. “Feli [Feliciano Lopez] uses a lot of slice and variation, Ramos [Albert Ramos-Vinolas] yesterday is a lefty and today against Dominic, who plays with the kick serve and so much spin.

“To play two hours today after three yesterday, will be good for me.”

In Budapest, British No 4 Aljaz Bedene secured a place in the final of the Hungarian Open with a 6-2 6-4 win over Serbia’s Laslo Djere.

It was a 16th victory in succession for the 27-year-old, who had secured back-to-back titles on the second-tier Challenger Tour before coming through qualifying in Budapest.

Bedene, who will face top seed Lucas Pouille of France in the

final, said: “I was working really hard in the pre-season and staying solid, so I am really happy with how I am playing. It is great to play in a final.”

In Stuttgart, Kristina Mladenovic produced a stunning comeback to end Maria Sharapova’s run at the Porsche Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old French world No 19 looked to be heading for defeat after losing the first set 6-3 and then finding herself broken again by Sharapova at the start of the second set to trail 0-2.

However, Mladenovic recovered level the match at 7-5 and went on to win the third 6-4 in two hours and 39 minutes.