By Chris Oddo | Sunday, February 1st, 2015

A nip-and-tuck battle turned into highway robbery in a matter of a few regrettable moments for Andy Murray, as the Scot went from having a break point for a 4-3 lead in the pivotal third set to being in train wreck mode in rather rapid fashion during Sunday’s Australian Open men’s singles final.

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After failing to convert his break, Murray would spend the next game spraying errors and screaming gibberish at his box while dropping serve, and he wouldn’t take another game from Novak Djokovic.

Murray says his problems weren’t physical at all, which is no secret to anybody who witnessed his questionable handling of the most important games he’s played since returning from back surgery more than a year ago.

He reiterated that fact in press. “The third set was frustrating because I got a bit distracted when he, like, fell on the ground after a couple of shots,” said Murray. “It appeared that he was cramping, and then I let that distract me a little bit. That's what I'm most disappointed about, not so much the fourth set because I think, especially at the end of it, he was just going for everything, and it was going in. But the third set was more frustrating for me.”

Murray, who had played unbelievably well during a captivating, hair-raising two and a half sets that featured epic rallies, momentum shifts and high-quality ball-striking, lost his way just as Djokovic was finding his, and the result was the first love set to end a men’s final in Australian Open history.

Asked if playing “possum,” or faking an injury to deliberately deceive an opponent was a legitimate tactic, Murray was quick to answer. “No, it's not legitimate. Like I have no idea what the issue was,” he told reporters. “He obviously looked like he was in quite a bad way at the beginning of the third set and came back unbelievable at the end of that set. Then obviously the way he was hitting the ball in the fourth and moving was impressive. So, yeah, I don't know exactly what the issue was for him.”

Djokovic admits he was struggling. “We both of course went through some tough moments physically,” he said. “You could see that I had a crisis [at the] end of the second, beginning of the third. Just felt very exhausted and I needed some time to regroup and recharge and get back on track.”

When told that Murray thought he was cramping, Djokovic said it wasn’t the case. “No, I wasn't cramping,” he said. “I didn't call a timeout because I had no reason to call it. I was just weak. I went through the physical crisis in the matter of 20 minutes. And, honestly, didn't feel that too many times in my career. But knowing in the back of my mind that it was a similar situation two years ago in Australian Open final, 2013, where two sets went over two hours, was a similar battle.

“Then I felt that I had some physical edge over him in that match. That was in back of my mind. That was something that kept me going. And obviously the importance of the moment, being in finals of Grand Slam. I didn't want to give up. I try never to give up. Even though I went through this moment, I believed that I'm going to get that necessary strength. I'm going to have to earn it, and that's what I did. I started hitting the ball more, covering the court better, shortening the points, and allowed myself to come back to the match.”

Though Murray isn’t quite sure what was going on with Djokovic, he is sure that the reason he lost the match was not due to a lack of stamina. “The reason I lost that match was not a physical thing. I don't believe that,” he said. Later he added: “I definitely got distracted in the third set, so that would be a mental thing, yeah.”