Andy Murray continued his remarkable run on clay when he pulled off a stunning upset to dethrone home favourite Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-2 in the Madrid Masters final on Sunday.

Aggressive second seed Murray, following up Monday’s triumph on the red dust in Munich, his debut clay singles title, denied Nadal a third straight triumph in the Spanish capital.

The Scot’s performances this week suggest he may be a real contender at the French Open starting at the end of the month.

Murray, had never beaten third-seeded Nadal on clay in six attempts but raced into a 3-0 lead at the futuristic magic box arena and fended off three break points to close out the set.

The world number three broke an out-of-sorts Nadal twice more to open a 4-0 lead in the second and finished off the French Open champion on his first match point when Nadal sent a weak forehand return into the net.

It was Murray’s 10th Masters crown and 33rd career title, while Nadal was denied a record-extending 28th Masters and 66th title overall.

Nadal needed a win to remain fourth in the world rankings and he will drop to seven when they are updated on Monday, putting him outside the top five for the first time in a decade.