Andy Murray claimed he became distracted by Novak Djokovic’s fitness problems during his Australian Open final defeat by the Serb. The Serb, ranked number one, came through 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-0 in three hours and 39 minutes. It was a third win over British number one Murray in a Melbourne final and brought him an eighth Grand Slam title. Djokovic, 27, had issues with his thumb and ankle in the opening two sets, then appeared to struggle with another leg injury as Murray led 2-0 in the third. Murray was aiming to win his third Grand Slam title after victory at the 2012 US Open and a home triumph at Wimbledon the following year. He was also bidding to become the first man to win the Australian Open after three previous final defeats, but lost again to long-time rival Djokovic – who beat Murray in 2011 and 2013 – on Rod Laver Arena.
“I’m frustrated at myself for letting that bother me,” the Briton, 27, said.
“The third set was frustrating because I got a bit distracted when he fell on the ground after a couple of shots,” Murray added. “I dropped off for 10, 15 minutes there, and he got back into it. “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.”
Djokovic looked uncomfortable after every point, grimacing and limping, as Murray broke in the first game and held in the second. However, the eight-time Grand Slam winner quickly managed to recover from the problem, winning 12 of the next 13 games to ease to his fifth Australian Open title.
“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 unbelievably at the end of that set,” he said.
“The way he was hitting the ball in the fourth and moving was impressive.”
Novak Djokovic vs Andy Murray, 01/02/2015, 08:40 GMT, Match Center
Australian Open: Murray says he was 'distracted' by Djokovic
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