Andy Murray's first Australian Open title will have to wait another year after the Scot fell to German Mischa Zverev 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 during the fourth round. But Murray didn't have a list of excuses or regrets to discuss following his earliest exit in Melbourne since 2009, when he also lost in the Round of 16.
“I had some opportunities at the end. I think the last two service games I had chances. Maybe three service games in the last set I had opportunities,” Murray said. “But then he came back from all of the mistakes that he made, kept coming up with great shots. There's not too much you can do about that. Sometimes you got to say, 'Well played'. It was obviously disappointing to lose. But he did some good stuff out there.”
Zverev charged the net 118 times against Murray, winning 55 per cent of those approaches. Overall, Zverev won almost more points at the net – 65 – than he did elsewhere – 81.
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“He came up with some great pickups, reflex volleys, especially at the end of the match when it was tight. That was tough because I was hitting some good shots, chasing some good balls down,” Murray said. “Just wasn't meant to be. He served very well when he needed to, especially when he was behind in games. He deserved to win because he played great when he was down and also in the important moments.”
Murray was attempting to reach the quarter-finals for an eighth straight year and reach the Australian Open final for the sixth time. The 29 year old has finished as runner-up in Melbourne a record five times, losing to Roger Federer in 2010 and Novak Djokovic in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016. Had Murray won, he would have faced Federer in the quarter-finals.
“Did I miss an opportunity? I don't know. Every year you come is a different chance, different opportunity,” Murray said. “There are certainly no guarantees, even if I got through today's match, that I would have gone further. Yeah, it's disappointing to lose. I don't feel like this is any more of an opportunity than other years.
“I don't think I was flat... I was getting myself pumped up. Sometimes at the end of the sets I was trying to get a little more energy, show more positive body language. And I did that at the end of the match, at the end of the first and second sets. It just wasn't to be today.”