Disappointed Andy Murray insists he’s not far off matching dominant Novak Djokovic

Andy Murray insisted he wasn’t far away from matching Novak Djokovic despite his fourth defeat to the runaway world number one in the Australian Open final.

Dad-to-be Murray paid the price for a slow start as he went down 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) in a one-sided men’s final on Sunday which only underlined the Serb’s supremacy.

But Murray, before making a dash to the airport to fly home to his pregnant wife, said he felt he remained in touch with Djokovic despite their widening head-to-head statistics.

“I don’t know how far off I was tonight. The first set, you know, I wasn’t there, but the second and third sets I do think were very close,” said the British world number two.

“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.

“I mean, 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.”

READ MORE: Humble Novak Djokovic joins Roy Emerson in history books with six Australian Open titles