Andy Murray's latest comeback came to an abrupt end in the second round at Queen's on Thursday as top seed Matteo Berrettini outclassed the former world number one 6-3, 6-3.
The British three-time Grand Slam champion chased after several Berrettini thunderbolts without showing signs of being troubled by the groin problem that had prevented him playing singles since March.
However, the result showed the size of the task facing Murray, who has won the grasscourt tournament on five occasions, as he prepares for Wimbledon, which starts on June 28.
The Italian's big serve took centre stage in London as he saved all three break points he faced during the match, which lasted an hour and 25 minutes.
The world number nine, 25, broke Murray twice in the first set and took an early break in the second for a 3-0 lead. He never looked back, mixing powerful groundstrokes with some deft touches at the net.
Berrettini will face another British player, Dan Evans, in Friday's quarter-finals. Evans beat France's Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 7-6 (9/7).
"This was really hard. We all know who Andy is, he is a great player and he was always there even until the last point," said Berrettini. "I'm really happy for my performance.
"I know how tough it is to come back from an injury, so I wish him the best of luck. I think he played great today. I played better. I am just happy that he is back."
Alexander Zverev also crashed out on Thursday, leaving world number seven Andrey Rublev as the only seeded player left in the draw.
After Roger Federer suffered a shock defeat on Wednesday, Zverev, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open last week, also exited in the second round when he lost 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-3 to France's Ugo Humbert.
Along with Federer and Zverev, top seeds Daniil Medvedev, Roberto Bautista Agut, David Goffin and Gael Monfils also all failed to get past the second round in Halle.