Murray bemoans his returning game after Djokovic defeat

The Scot lost in straight sets, 6-1 7-6 (7-4) to world No 1 Djokovic who clinched his first title of the year since the Australian Open,

Djokovic looked in control from the outset as he won back-to-back service games to win the first set and despite Murray rallying back to take the second set to a tie-break, the Serbian held strong to take the title.

Murray said afterwards that his return game let him down and cost him the match.

He said: “I didn’t return well today, which is normally one of the best parts of my game. That was the difference, in my opinion.

“[I was] not getting enough of his service game because I missed too many returns.

“If I was able to get longer rallies on his service games, then maybe it would have been a different result in the second set.”

Murray had endured a strange week in the lead up to the final in Miami after being awarded two walkovers, most notably when Rafael Nadal pulled out of their semi-final, meaning he had only played two matches in a month before the final.

However, the British No 1 would have still fancied his chances of an upset having won his last meeting with Djokovic in Dubai last month.

In the end Djokovic made it look easy as he surged ahead in the deciding tie-break and when Murray, who only managed one break point all match, mishit a forehand long the Serbian celebrated his third title at Crandon Park.

After lifting the trophy Djokovic was keen to highlight his own good play rather than the poor return of Murray.

“When he feels the chance, he always grabs it,” he said. “Luckily for me, I came out with some good serving when I needed to.

“I think I served over 70 per cent of first serves in, which was really important today to get a couple of free points on that serve and set up a good second shot.

“I [did] that when I needed to.”

Murray will no doubt be looking to rectify his return game over the next few weeks ahead of the clay court season with the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters kicking off in Monaco in two weeks time.