It is often easy to be generous in victory but Novak Djokovic certainly sounded sincere today when he said he believes it is only a matter of time before Andy Murray becomes a grand slam champion.
The two have spent a lot of time together over the past month, practising and catching up, and there was genuine warmth in their embrace at the net despite a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 defeat that was as one-sided as the scoreline suggests. Djokovic said he had played almost perfectly but before he celebrated his second grand slam title, he found time to give Murray backing.
"I understand how he feels; it's his third [grand slam] final and he didn't get the title, so it's a tough one," the world No3 said. "But 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."
Darren Cahill, a leading coach and a commentator with ESPN, said the Scot might do well to watch the final again to see where he went wrong. "Murray needs to take a look at this match, maybe get a tape of it, to see how he fared emotionally, because he was flat. I think the big question mark is how well he takes this loss." His feelings were echoed by the former US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, who described Murray's performance as "listless" and said "he didn't show up mentally".
Djokovic said getting over the finishing line is the hardest thing to achieve. "Every time you get to [a grand slam final], 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. The bottom line is that this is a very mental sport.
"Andy's a very talented player and he's a hard worker. He's been in the final three times and he just needs to make that final step. Of course, it's not easy. You could see his struggle and frustrations because he felt he had his chances to win. But it's a learning process.
"It wasn't easy for me, as well. I know how he feels. He's still young. I'm sure he's going to have more chances to win it."
Murray said he thought Djokovic's performance would have been too good for every player on the tour but did admit that it was frustrating to miss another chance. "Anyone who played in three finals would have loved to have won one, but I haven't," he said. "I just need to keep working hard to try to do it. But I would have preferred to have won one than lost three.
"I started to go for my shots more as the match went on. At the start both of us were trying to feel each other out a little bit and as you work your way into the match you start to find patterns and go for your shots more. I started taking more chances and managed to break serves a few times, but I wasn't able to keep it up for long enough."
The Scot received plenty of messages of support, especially from fellow British players, but his mother, Judy, who last year had to console a tearful Murray after his defeat by Roger Federer in the final, found the time to send a nice note via Twitter to Djokovic – "Well done Nole. So solid. Great ambassador for tennis".
Even though it was another chastening experience, Murray said he felt better than he did after losing to Federer 12 months ago. "It's better than it was last year. It is tough and disappointing but I have got to deal with it."
Djokovic has been riding a wave of confidence since last summer, when he turned round a faltering game to reach the final of the US Open, before going on to lead Serbia to their first Davis Cup title last month. The 23-year-old said that the win in Belgrade had been the key to his stunning form over the past fortnight.
"The Davis Cup win had a big role in my great performance here. After we won the title I was feeling great on the court, just eager to compete. And, of course, during this tournament I was feeling great on the court. The Davis Cup title and another grand slam title. I'm living the dream, definitely."
