There was little time for Andy Murray to ponder a fifth Australian Open final defeat on Sunday night. After falling to Novak Djokovic for the fourth time in the Melbourne Park final, the Scot was straight off court, into press, then swiftly on his way to the airport to catch the 1am flight home to London.
It has been a testing fortnight for Murray. Not only has the Dunblane native been anxiously awaiting news from his wife Kim, who is expecting the couple’s first child in February, but he also had the worry of his father-in-law, Nigel Sears, collapsing courtside in the first week of the tournament. Sears is now at home recovering, but it took its toll mentally on Murray.
“It was a difficult one,” said Murray, who admitted he was close to withdrawing from the tournament after Sears’ collapse. “I’ve never been in that position before, so it’s as close as I’ve sort of been to leaving a Grand Slam.
“It was a tough, tough couple of days. Thankfully he’s fine now. I just want to get home.
“It’s been hard. Regardless of today’s result, it’s been hard. Had I lost in the third or fourth round it still would have been difficult with everything that’s happened,” continued Murray.
“[Kim’s] been amazing. She handled everything unbelievably well. I have to thank her for allowing me to play and stay here with everything that was going on. But it was tough. I’ve been held on flights for it feels like five days. I’ve been held on almost every single flight, so the first one out of here, I’m leaving.”
Murray has felt the weight of Djokovic’s dominance more than most in the past three years. Since beating the Serb in the 2012 US Open final to win his first major title, Murray has lost 14 of the pair’s past 16 contests, including six defeats in seven matches in 2015.
Despite the gap in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series now at 22-9 in Djokovic’s favour, Murray believes that he isn’t as far from the Serb’s level as some might suggest.
“I don’t know how far off I was tonight,” said Murray. “The first set I wasn’t there, but the second and third sets I do think were very close.
“I do think I could have played a bit better. I didn’t think I hit my forehand as well as I could have done. When I did in the third set, that helped me out a lot. I was able to get myself into the net more. I was able to play more offensive tennis then.
“Most of the matches we played in slams I think have been competitive. Whether that looks the same from the outside or not, I don’t know. For a three-set match, two hours and 50 minutes, it was a tough few sets.”
( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/murray-2016-australian-open-final-reaction )
Topics: Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Australian Open Tennis, Kim Sears, Melbourne, Melbourne Park final, Nigel Sears, Novak Djokovic, Tennis News
RT @10sBalls_com: #Murray Catches Flight Home After #AusOpenFinal Loss, His Wife Kim Sears Is Very Pregnant
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RT @10sBalls_com: #Murray Catches Flight Home After #AusOpenFinal Loss, His Wife Kim Sears Is Very Pregnant
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RT @10sBalls_com: #Murray Catches Flight Home After #AusOpenFinal Loss, His Wife Kim Sears Is Very Pregnant
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