Australian Open 2015: Amelie Mauresmo finds a silver lining in Andy Murray's progress

Murray's coach is pleased with his progress despite Sunday's final defeat

Amélie Mauresmo was pleased with ‘two good weeks’ despite the disappointment of final defeat (GETTY IMAGES)

Amélie Mauresmo, Andy Murray’s coach, is heartened by the progress he has made in recent weeks despite his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.

“We just have to continue to work,” Mauresmo said. “We have already made important progress – the little things are still to be worked on. There is not a lot of frustration. He did what he could today. He gave his best. At the end we saw it wasn’t enough. It’s a bit hard but that’s how it is.”

She added: “Andy was a little bit timid when he had a break or led. Novak served really well – better than Andy. The two little things made the difference. But these have been two really good weeks compared to the end of last year. He has really succeeded in finding his level of play.

“Of course there is a little disappointment after a loss in a final, which is normal. But we will all look back on where he has come from to where he is at now. There are still a few steps to climb before maybe holding a Grand Slam trophy again, but the gap is closing.”

Pat Cash was less impressed. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, the former Wimbledon champion said Murray needed to learn from his mistakes.

“Things just started snowballing for Murray once he lost that concentration when everything was going his way,” Cash said. “He hasn’t put up a great fight. He absolutely collapsed. He melted down. He’s been disappointing and the bottom line is, the situation got too much.

“He has to look at it and say: ‘I can’t do this again. What did I do wrong?’ It’s the same stuff that’s happened his whole career. He needs to find the right balance between attack and defence.”

This was Murray’s sixth successive defeat against a world No 1. “If he wants to beat these guys then he has to start learning from this,” Cash said. “He’s a seriously good player but if he wants to be a great player then he has to fix this element. He’s got to focus and look at why he had the meltdown. He’s got to look in the mirror.”