After his seventh consecutive loss to Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s Miami Open final, Andy Murray’s post-match press conference sounded eerily similar to the one he held after falling to Djokovic in four sets at last year’s US Open. Then, a worn down Murray said: “I thought physically he was better than me in the end.”

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He added: “I was a little bit disappointed, to be honest, because I did train very hard.”

It’s about eight months later, but Murray is still dealing with the same issues. He struggled mightily with his fitness in the oppressive Miami heat on Sunday, and was blitzed in the deciding set by his fresher opponent. The loss marks the tenth consecutive time that Murray has fell to Djokovic on a hard court. A reporter wanted to know if Murray was still struggling to find his physical peak because of his back issues of a year ago. “I don't think so, to be honest,” he said. “I don't know exactly why that is, but I've trained as hard as I can. Maybe I could have hydrated a little bit better or whatever, but I don't think that I can do a whole lot more physically to get in much better shape.”

If that’s the truth, then what can Murray do? He appeared wobbly, as if he could barely stand for much of the third set on Sunday. What appeared to be a winnable match turned into an error-fest in the third set for Murray, and he couldn’t manage a game on the court he calls his home court because he spends so much time during the season training on it.

“I just to have try and keep working hard and see if there are a few things I can do differently which might help,” he said. “You know, it's tough, because it was obviously pretty brutal conditions out there. Yeah, he was stronger than me at the end for sure.”

Something seems amiss. Murray has always been known as one of the hardest working players on tour, one that leaves no stone unturned when it comes to fitness. But if that’s the case, and he really is clear of his back troubles, how does one explain a third set like the one he played Sunday?

The frustrating part is that Murray doesn’t really seem to know. “I know from my side that I'm training as best as I can,” he said. “I can try to do more, but I do push myself hard. I obviously know that Novak is a very fit guy, and sometimes in these conditions has struggled a little bit in the humidity. He handled it extremely well today and deserved to win the match because of that.”