• Australian Open

Murray: Blisters not to blame for defeat

ESPN staff
January 28, 2013
Andy Murray needed treatment on his feet in the final © AP
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Andy Murray has insisted his battered feet had no bearing on his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, but called on event organisers to level the playing field.

World No. 3 Murray took the first set, but Djokovic roared back to win in four sets to wrap up an Australian Open hat-trick.

There was not a lot between the players for much of the match, but Murray began to flag in the third and fourth sets and called on the trainer to treat blisters.

Murray did not cite fatigue as an excuse, but did suggest the scheduling needs looking at to ensure there is no advantage to one side of the draw. Djokovic won his semi-final in straight sets on Thursday, while Murray needed five sets to beat Roger Federer 24 hours later - leaving him with less recovery time.

"That had no bearing on the result," Murray said when asked about his damaged feet. "it just hurts a bit when you run. I very rarely get blisters. But 90 per cent of the players will have played this tournament with some sort of blister or problem."

Reflecting on the fact Djokovic had extra recovery time for the final, Murray said: "That's something for the tournament to look at. The US Open made adjustments to their scheduling to make it easier for players to recover.

"I'm sure the organisers here know what they're doing and will make the right decisions."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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