Highlights - Djokovic ends Murray's slam dream
Andy Murray says the only way he can respond to suffering a third Grand Slam final defeat is by working hard to ensure he does better next time.
The Briton lost 6-4 6-2 6-3 to Serbia's Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open to miss out on a first major title.
And Murray said he felt "better" than in the aftermath of last year's loss to Roger Federer in Melbourne.
"I want to keep working hard, try and improve," he said. "It's going to be tough, for sure, for a few days."
Britain remains without a male Grand Slam singles champion since Fred Perry's US Open triumph in 1936, but Murray has always said that his pursuit of a major title is driven by personal desire, and that remains undimmed.
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Murray puts final defeat in perspective
"I said before the final, it's not something that I don't lose sleep over at night," said the 23-year-old Scot.
"I want to try and win one, of course, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I'm just working as hard as I can. I train very hard. You know, I take tennis very seriously.
"But I love my life away from tennis, as well. That's why maybe this year, compared with last, I'm very, very happy off the court. I'm enjoying myself. There's other things to look forward to, too."
He added: "Anyone who played in three finals would have loved to have won one but I haven't. I just need to keep working hard and try and do it. But, yeah, I would have preferred to have won one than lost three."
Murray, who also lost to Federer in the 2008 US Open final, went into Sunday's final having won his last three matches against Djokovic.
However, the last of those came two years ago and the Serbian has since developed into a player capable of threatening Rafael Nadal and Federer at the very top of the game.
"I thought Novak played unbelievably well," said Murray. "And, yeah, it's tough but I've got to deal with it. But he played great. I mean, I would have liked to have played better, but I think he would have beaten every other player on the tour if he played like that tonight.
"He served well. He didn't make many mistakes from the back of the court. He moved really, really well. He hit the ball very clean. That was it."
Bottom line is that this is a very mental sport in the end - everybody is very fit
Novak Djokovic
Murray was comprehensively beaten and looked flat in comparison to earlier matches in Melbourne, but he insisted that was down to his opponent.
"I thought I moved decent, I think I could have moved better," said Murray. "But, no, I wasn't injured. But I had a tough match in the semi. I moved very well the whole tournament.
"I felt like I could have moved a bit better tonight and against someone like Novak, you need to be firing on all cylinders, and I didn't move as well as I would have liked."
Despite the disappointment of missing out in a final once again, Murray could take heart from the fact that he has again started the year with an impressive run in the first Grand Slam of the season.
"I look at the tournament as a whole, it was excellent," he said. "I don't think anyone would say that reaching a Slam final is a bad achievement. It's a very, very good achievement.
"Obviously right now there's disappointment because you just lost the match, but when you look back over the tournament, there's not many people that can say they've made Slam finals.
"So I'll be very happy with the way the tournament went but I would have obviously liked to have gone one step further."
Murray suffered a slump in form following last year's final loss to Federer and admitted that he was unsure whether he would recover from the disappointment more quickly this time.
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Djokovic understands Murray pain
"I don't know," said the world number five. "Might do. But right now I feel better than I did last year. I'll see what I do from here. I don't know, I might not play for a few months. I might feel like playing in a week's time. It depends. See how I feel."
Djokovic insisted that Murray, a friend since the pair were juniors, would go on to win a Grand Slam title at some stage.
"I understand how he feels," said the Serbian. "It's his third final and he didn't get the title. It's a tough one.
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Your thoughts on the final
"But as I said on the court, I'll repeat it again, I really have big respect for him and his game because I think he has everything it takes to become a Grand Slam champion. I'm sure that very soon he will be."
And Djokovic hinted that losing in major finals could start to have an impact on Murray's confidence.
"Well, it is in some ways a mental issue when you are facing a situation, playing the finals of a Grand Slam, being so close to winning a title," he said.
"Every time you get there you want to win it badly, but some things go wrong. You're thinking too much. You're worrying too much in your head. It's a mental battle, definitely. Bottom line is that this is a very mental sport in the end. Everybody is very fit."
Andy Murray says the only way he can respond to suffering a third Grand Slam final defeat is by working hard to ensure he does better next time.
The Briton lost 6-4 6-2 6-3 to Serbia's Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open to miss out on a first major title.
And Murray said he felt "better" than in the aftermath of last year's loss to Roger Federer in Melbourne.
"I want to keep working hard, try and improve," he said. "It's going to be tough, for sure, for a few days."
Britain remains without a male Grand Slam singles champion since Fred Perry's US Open triumph in 1936, but Murray has always said that his pursuit of a major title is driven by personal desire, and that remains undimmed.
Click to play
Click to play
Murray puts final defeat in perspective
"I said before the final, it's not something that I don't lose sleep over at night," said the 23-year-old Scot.
"I want to try and win one, of course, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I'm just working as hard as I can. I train very hard. You know, I take tennis very seriously.
"But I love my life away from tennis, as well. That's why maybe this year, compared with last, I'm very, very happy off the court. I'm enjoying myself. There's other things to look forward to, too."
He added: "Anyone who played in three finals would have loved to have won one but I haven't. I just need to keep working hard and try and do it. But, yeah, I would have preferred to have won one than lost three."
Murray, who also lost to Federer in the 2008 US Open final, went into Sunday's final having won his last three matches against Djokovic.
However, the last of those came two years ago and the Serbian has since developed into a player capable of threatening Rafael Nadal and Federer at the very top of the game.
"I thought Novak played unbelievably well," said Murray. "And, yeah, it's tough but I've got to deal with it. But he played great. I mean, I would have liked to have played better, but I think he would have beaten every other player on the tour if he played like that tonight.
"He served well. He didn't make many mistakes from the back of the court. He moved really, really well. He hit the ball very clean. That was it."
Bottom line is that this is a very mental sport in the end - everybody is very fit
Novak Djokovic
Murray was comprehensively beaten and looked flat in comparison to earlier matches in Melbourne, but he insisted that was down to his opponent.
"I thought I moved decent, I think I could have moved better," said Murray. "But, no, I wasn't injured. But I had a tough match in the semi. I moved very well the whole tournament.
"I felt like I could have moved a bit better tonight and against someone like Novak, you need to be firing on all cylinders, and I didn't move as well as I would have liked."
Despite the disappointment of missing out in a final once again, Murray could take heart from the fact that he has again started the year with an impressive run in the first Grand Slam of the season.
"I look at the tournament as a whole, it was excellent," he said. "I don't think anyone would say that reaching a Slam final is a bad achievement. It's a very, very good achievement.
"Obviously right now there's disappointment because you just lost the match, but when you look back over the tournament, there's not many people that can say they've made Slam finals.
"So I'll be very happy with the way the tournament went but I would have obviously liked to have gone one step further."
Murray suffered a slump in form following last year's final loss to Federer and admitted that he was unsure whether he would recover from the disappointment more quickly this time.
Click to play
Click to play
Djokovic understands Murray pain
"I don't know," said the world number five. "Might do. But right now I feel better than I did last year. I'll see what I do from here. I don't know, I might not play for a few months. I might feel like playing in a week's time. It depends. See how I feel."
Djokovic insisted that Murray, a friend since the pair were juniors, would go on to win a Grand Slam title at some stage.
"I understand how he feels," said the Serbian. "It's his third final and he didn't get the title. It's a tough one.
606: DEBATE
Your thoughts on the final
"But as I said on the court, I'll repeat it again, I really have big respect for him and his game because I think he has everything it takes to become a Grand Slam champion. I'm sure that very soon he will be."
And Djokovic hinted that losing in major finals could start to have an impact on Murray's confidence.
"Well, it is in some ways a mental issue when you are facing a situation, playing the finals of a Grand Slam, being so close to winning a title," he said.
"Every time you get there you want to win it badly, but some things go wrong. You're thinking too much. You're worrying too much in your head. It's a mental battle, definitely. Bottom line is that this is a very mental sport in the end. Everybody is very fit."
