Andy Murray's French Open ended in a 6‑3, 7‑6, 6‑3, 7‑5 third-round defeat to Nicolas Almagro yesterday, his clay-court education halted for another year.

All that Murray has learned during the last six weeks of toil on the red dirt was on display against Almagro and much of it will come in handy again when he begins playing competitive matches on grass the week after next, but Almagro also showed the Scot must spend many additional hours on a surface he finds more challenging than any other. Until he does he will be vulnerable to the very best claycourt players in the world and Almagro, the most successful player on surface this year behind Rafael Nadal, is undeniably in that category.

It is a sign of the progress Murray feels he has made since his first tournament in Monte Carlo at the end of April that he pushed Almagro so close, and that he was as disappointed as he was not to have beaten him and achieved his stated goal of making the second week at Roland Garros.

That was always going to be a huge task, as was beating Almagro. For all that expectations were raised by Murray's dazzling performance against Jose Acasuso in the previous round, realism dictated that it would be a incredibly difficult match.

So it proved. Murray played well; well enough in fact to have beaten a host of lesser players with ease, but Almagro's dangerous hitting off both wings and his surprisingly powerful serve required something that Murray is not quite ready to produce on clay - sustained brilliance.

He managed it in flashes, notably in the second set and during the early stages of the third, but when the level dropped a smidgen, Almagro was ready to strike.

Like all the best claycourt players, 22-year-old Almagro combined athletic defence with penetrating attack and was a persistent irritant along the baseline, buzzing around with aggressive intent like a wasp around a picnic. No wonder Murray showed noisy and frequent signs of frustration.

He was outplayed in the first set but once he got up the courage to be more aggressive in the second set, he put in a charge which saw him level the match and go a break up to lead 3-1 in the third set.

Breaks of serves on clay are more difficult to defend than on other surfaces though, and Murray's first serve - which had looked invincible for long stretches - let him down at the most inconvenient time.

Having surrendered the momentum, he lost the set and went a break down early in the fourth set. He fought hard when Almagro served for the match the first time at 5-4 and the Brits who sat sunburned arm to sunburned arm on a packed Court Seven at Roland Garros, filled the late afternoon air with cheers, only to have them silenced when Murray's serve faltered again in the next game. There was to be no second reprieve.

Murray headed home last night with his disappointment tempered by both the quality of rival he lost to and the quality of performances he put in to reach the third round - his best result in Paris.

"You saw by the way that he reacted at the end of the match that it was a tough match," said Murray afterwards. "To win against me on clay, it is a very good result. I'm not someone that's going to be taken lightly on this surface in the future, I don't think. I believe that I'm going to be one of the top players on clay in a couple years. I just need a bit more experience, a bit more strength and understanding of how to play and I'll be up there with the best players."

Murray did enough well against Almagro to suggest that he is right.

He might not yet be schooled in claycourt tennis as well as yesterday's opponent was, but he certainly makes a very promising pupil.