Dan Evans suffered a straight sets defeat to Sebastian Ofner in the opening round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Evans’ second match on clay for the season was over quickly after he was blown away by the Austrian.

The British number three dropped the first four matches in a set he went on to lose 6-1.

The 33-year-old improved in the second set but again dropped serve early on and was chasing from then on.

With just under an hour and 10 minutes on the clock, Ofner was 30-0 up serving for the match but offered Evans a glimmer of hope with a couple of errors to bring it back to 30-30.

However, the 27-year-old Austrian regained his composure to seal his place in the second round, 6-1 6-4.

Evans lost his first clay-court match of the season in straight sets to Roberto Carballes Baena at the Grand Prix Hassan in Marrakech last week.

Andy Murray will miss next month’s Monte Carlo Masters and the BMW Open Munich with the ankle injury he suffered in Miami.

The 36-year-old Scot has vowed to return to action “as soon as possible”, but it is also uncertain when he will be back on court.

A statement from the two-time Wimbledon champion’s management team on Friday read: “Following consultation with his team and medical experts, Andy Murray has taken the decision to miss the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters and BMW Open Munich.

“At this stage, it is still not clear how long Andy will be out of action, and he is continuing to review options with his medical team.

“Obviously this is very disappointing news for Andy and he has reiterated his desire to get back on court as soon as possible.

“He thanks all his fans for their kind messages of support and will continue to update everybody as the situation evolves.”

The Monte Carlo Masters and BMW Open Munich take place between April 7-14 and April 15-21 respectively.

Murray cried out in pain and fell to the floor late on in his third-round defeat by Tomas Machac at the Miami Open last Sunday.

Murray was able to complete the match after on-court treatment but revealed in an Instagram post that he had seriously damaged two ligaments in his left ankle.

It is less than 10 weeks until the start of the British grass-court season and just over three months until Wimbledon, where Murray had planned to play for the final time before retirement.

He has also targeted a final Olympic appearance in Paris but all those could depend on whether he needs an operation or if non-surgical measures will suffice.

It is cruel timing for the three-time grand-slam champion, who had won back-to-back matches for the first time this year in Miami.