Beaten Murray simply second best

Murray Australian open 2011

And so the wait goes on. No, not Britain's 75-years-and-counting wait for a male Grand Slam champion, but Andy Murray's wait for a major championship trophy. For the third time, Scotland's finest finished second in a Grand Slam final and for the third time he failed to win a set.
This time it was Novak Djokovic who shattered his dreams, comprehensively outplaying Murray over the course of two hours and 39 minutes to win 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. So thorough was the beating and so far was Murray from threatening his old mate from the junior days that the Scot seemed resigned to his defeat. Last year he had been emotional, choking back the tears on court and then spending four months in the doldrums as he tried to recover from his disappointment. This time he was just beaten.
"I was in a much worse state last year than I was this year," Murray said, suddenly sounding terribly tired. "I don't know why. It's better than it was last year. It was obviously tough, disappointing. I thought Novak played unbelievably well. And, yeah, it's tough, but I've got to deal with it."
He sounded flat and downbeat - as any defeated finalist would - but his tone matched his play: he was always second best and there was very little he could do about it. For most of the first set, he played cat and mouse but then suddenly Djokovic pounced. Once that first set had gone, Murray cut a dejected figure on the court and for all that the crowd tried to rouse him, he could not hurt his Serbian rival.
"You always have to try and find a way to get back in," Murray said. "You always have to try and believe. He defended unbelievably well tonight. So when I got ahead in some games and even just in points, he was sticking up lobs that were landing on the baseline, passing shots that were very close to the lines. So it was quite difficult to find parts of the court where I was getting free points from.
"I think I broke his serve maybe twice in the third set and still lost it 6‑3. I was trying to find a way; I just wasn't able to put enough good points together."

"I would have liked to have played better but I think he would have beaten every other player on the tour if he played like that tonight. He served well. He didn't make many mistakes from the back of the court. He moved really, really well. He hit the ball very clean. That was it." Andy Murray

There were times when Murray looked ready to make a comeback but for every good point he played, he would then play a reckless shot, a frustrated shot, and he was back to square one. And at the other end of the court, the world No.3 and the Davis Cup champion, looked better and better. Djokovic was overwhelming Murray in every department and with every game that passed, he looked stronger and more confident.
"He played great," Murray said. "I would have liked to have played better but I think he would have beaten every other player on the tour if he played like that tonight. He served well. He didn't make many mistakes from the back of the court. He moved really, really well. He hit the ball very clean. That was it."
Last year, Murray believed that he could beat Roger Federer in the final and he played well in his attempt to do so (it was just that Federer was on fire). The disappointment, then, was unbearable and it was not until Wimbledon that he began to play at anything like his true level. This year, he has no idea how the loss will affect him but he is prepared for anything.
"Right now I feel better than I did last year," he explained," I'll see what I do from here. I don't know, I might not play for a few months; I might feel like playing in a week's time. It depends. See how I feel.
"I want to keep working hard, try and improve. But I said before the final, it's not something that I lose sleep over at night. It's going to be tough for sure for a few days. I want to try and win one, of course. But if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.
"I'm just working as hard as I can. I train very hard. You know, I take tennis very seriously. But I love my life away from tennis, as well. That's why maybe this year, compared with last, I'm very, very happy off the court. I'm enjoying myself. There's other things to look forward to, too."
So Britain's wait goes on but, more tellingly, Murray's frustrating wait continues. Three finals, nine sets and counting - it is going to be a long wait until Roland Garros starts and Murray gets the chance to challenge for another title that matters.

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