World No 1 admits German left-hander Mischa Zverev "deserved to win"
Sunday 22 January 2017 19:09, UK
Andy Murray admitted his stunning Australian Open fourth-round loss to 50th-ranked Mischa Zverev was "a tough one" to take, but has vowed to bounce back.
Murray prides himself on the variety off weapons at his disposal, but they deserted him on Sunday as Zverev's serve and volley game put the top seed out in stunning fashion.
Germany's Zverev was inspired and came up with some brilliant shots as he charged to the net 118 times, breaking the world No 1 five times in the first two sets alone to claim the biggest win of his life.
With the defeat, Murray extends his curse at the Australian Open, where he has been runner-up five times - losing four finals to Djokovic - without lifting the trophy.
He also makes the earliest exit for an Australian Open top seed in 14 years, since Lleyton Hewitt fell at the same stage in 2003.
"I've had tough losses in my career in the past," Murray said. "I've come back from them. This is a tough one.
"I'm sure I'll come back okay from it. But right now I'm obviously very down because I wanted to go further in this event, and it wasn't to be."
Murray's exit follows the second-round departure of six-time defending champion Novak Djokovic, beaten in the second round by wild-card entry Denis Istomin.
That makes it the first time since 2002 that the top two seeds haven't reached the Australian Open quarter-finals, and the first time at a Grand Slam since the French Open in 2004.
But Murray refused to concede that it was a big opportunity lost after he was ambushed by Zverev, a former rival from their junior days.
"Did I miss an opportunity? I don't know," Murray added. "I mean, every year you come is a different chance, different opportunity.
"I mean, still even had I got through this match, (Kei) Nishikori or Roger (Federer) are waiting. Stan's (Wawrinka) still in.
"There's certainly no guarantees, even if I got through today's match, that I would have gone further."
He added: "It just wasn't meant to be. He served very well when he needed to, especially when he was behind in games.
"Yeah, he deserved to win because he played great when he was down, and also in the important moments."
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