• Australian Open

Downcast Murray considers 'a few months' off

ESPN staff
January 30, 2011

Andy Murray said he believes no-one could have beaten in-form Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open - before revealing he could now decide to take some time off from the game.

Murray was comprehensively outplayed in the final against Djokovic on Sunday in Melbourne, falling to a 6-4 6-2 6-3 defeat. The 23-year-old hailed the Serb, saying his form was such that he would have beaten any other opponent put in front of him.

"He played great. 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," Murray said. "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.

"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."

Murray lost in a similar fashion to Roger Federer in last year's final, a defeat that caused him to break down in tears during the post-match presentations. He avoided such a reaction this year, admitting afterwards that he found the loss to a long-time friend and rival a bit easier to handle.

"It's better than it was last year," he said. "You know, it was obviously tough, disappointing. I thought Novak played unbelievably well and yeah, it's tough, but I've got to deal with it. I was in a much worse state last year than I was this year. I don't know why."

The Scot then admitted he is considering taking some time away from the game to take stock of recent events.

"I'll see what I do from here, you know. 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," Murray said.

Any layoff is unlikely to be for too long, however, as Murray confirmed he intends to keep striving for that elusive grand slam title - although if it never happens he will remain content with his lot.

"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," he said. "It's going to be tough for sure for a few days but 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, 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."

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