Andy Murray blames lapse in concentration for Australian Open final defeat

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Andy Murray gestures as he addresses a press conference after defeat in his men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic.

    ​ Andy Murray blames a 10-minute lapse in concentration for his fourth Australian Open final defeat on Sunday, saying he got distracted by Novak Djokovic, who seemed to be injured but miraculously recovered to race to the win.

    Djokovic was visibly struggling early in the second set and again in the third, after a couple of falls, before the Serb shifted gears and took 12 of the last 13 games to secure a fifth Australian Open crown.

    – #Quiz360: WIN Dhs250 Legends Sports Bar voucher
    – Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray to win fifth Australian Open title
    – 
    Relive the Australian Open final – Novak Djokovic vs Andy Murray

    Murray refused to accuse Djokovic of being tactically deceptive by faking an injury but admits recovering from cramps – which the Scot assumed was the case – does not typically happen so fast.

    “The third set was frustrating because I got a bit distracted when he, like, fell on the ground after a couple of shots,” Murray told reporters after his defeat.

    “It appeared that he was cramping, and then I let that distract me a little bit. That’s what I’m most disappointed about, not so much the fourth set because I think, especially at the end of it, he was just going for everything, and it was going in. But the third set was more frustrating for me.”

    Asked if he thought it was a legitimate tactic to make you opponent think your injured before coming back flying, Murray said: “No, it’s not legitimate. I have no idea what the issue was. He obviously looked like he was in quite a bad way at the beginning of the third set and came back unbelievable at the end of that set.

    “Then obviously the way he was hitting the ball in the fourth and moving was impressive. So, yeah, I don’t know exactly what the issue was for him.

    Andy Murray reacts to a point during his men's final against Novak Djokovic.

    “I would hope that that wouldn’t be the case. But, yeah, if it was cramp, how he recovered from it, that’s a tough thing to recover from and play as well as he did at the end.

    “So, yeah, I’m frustrated at myself for letting that bother me at the beginning of the third set, because I was playing well, I had good momentum, and then just dropped off for like 10 minutes and it got away from me. So that’s the most frustrating thing because I thought I obviously had opportunities in the first set. I couldn’t quite get them. I managed to sneak the second. Then obviously was that break up in the third. So, yeah, there was definitely opportunities there.”

    Djokovic explained later that he did not suffer any cramps but was simple exhausted.

    “I wasn’t cramping. I didn’t call a timeout because I had no reason to call it. I was just weak. I went through the physical crisis in the matter of 20 minutes,” said the world No1.

    Murray was clearly rattled from the third set onwards and was yelling out loudly between points in anger.

    The 27-year-old, who on Monday returns to the top-four in the world rankings for the first time since January last year, had no explanation as to why he lost his cool during the match, and allowed Djokovic’s physical problems to distract him.

    “I don’t know exactly why it was the case, but I’ve never really experienced that in a slam final before. Maybe the occasion was something to do with it,” Murray said.

    The two-time major champion finds some solace in the fact that he himself felt good physically and did not attribute his poor fourth set to getting tired.

    “The reason I lost that match was not a physical thing. I don’t believe that. I know how I feel just now and how I felt after the match with Novak at the US Open. Yeah, I’m not frustrated for physical reasons because I feel fine just now,” said Murray.

    Meanwhile, Djokovic was asked if he was surprised at how Murray reacted on the court, given they’ve known each other since they were 11 and have faced off 24 times.

    “I’m not going to talk bad things about him in the press and say that he’s finding excuses or anything,” said Djokovic. “In the match like this a lot of emotions go through, a lot of tension. It’s not easy to keep the concentration 100 per cent all the way through.”

    Recommended