(27th January 2013) Andy Murray remained upbeat after reaching the Australian Open final on Sunday. The World No. 3 lost to Novak Djokovic 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-2 at Melbourne Park.
“I look at the positives of the last few months, and I think I’m going the right direction,” said Murray. “This is the first time I’ve beaten Roger [Federer] in a Grand Slam over five sets [in the semi-finals]. I think I dealt with the situations and the ebbs and flows in that match well.”
“I know that no one’s ever won a Grand Slam, the immediate one after winning their first one. It’s not the easiest thing to do and I got extremely close.
“[But] the past few months have been the best tennis of my life. I made the Wimbledon final, won the [London] Olympics and won the US Open. I was close here as well.”
Murray, who finished as runner-up in the 2010-11 Australian Open finals, now has a 1-5 record in Grand Slam championship title matches.
The 25-year-old Scot admitted that he felt more comfortable on the Rod Laver Arena court Sunday that he did in last year’s US Open final.
“Before the US Open match, I was unbelievably nervous beforehand and I doubted myself a lot.
“I didn’t go on the court today having those doubts. I went on the court and felt pretty calm from the beginning of the match. I was obviously still nervous, but I think I just felt more at home … on a court like that when you’re playing for a Grand Slam title. Now I feel more comfortable.”
Issued by ATP