The win was only the British number one's fourth on clay this season following his second-round defeat by Stanislas Wawrinka in Rome last week.

But after climbing back into the world's top 15 in the ATP rankings he told Sky Sports Xtra: "There's a lot of things I need to improve on but I'm ranked 14 in the world and supposedly I've been having a very bad year so far."

He added: "I haven't played that many matches on clay so to expect me to play well every single week (is too much).

"I lost a tough match against a tough guy last week and a bit too much was obviously made of it. I had chances in the second set and I didn't feel I played my best.

"I'm playing better on clay this year and I'm feeling a bit more confident. I'm sliding very well so hopefully I can have another good match on Tuesday.

"I think I've played pretty well and don't have any points to defend over the next few months so hopefully my ranking will get even higher, and hopefully I'll get back into the top 10 very soon."