Andy Murray's bid for a first grass-court singles title in six years ended in defeat by Matteo Berrettini in the Stuttgart Open final.
The Briton, 35, was troubled by a left hip injury in the third set of a 6-4 5-7 6-3 loss to the second seed.
Before that, his run had been full of encouraging signs with Wimbledon just 15 days away and will send him into the top 50 for the first time since 2018.
Victory was a dream return for Italy's Berrettini, 26, after three months out.
But he admitted that this was "not the way we wanted to end the match", referring to Murray's visible struggles.