When Andy Murray was accused of ‘collapsing’ by Pat Cash and told to have a ‘look at himself’

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Andy Murray never quite managed to get over the line at the Australian Open…

The British star lost five Australian Open finals, falling short against Roger Federer (1) and Novak Djokovic (4).

Surprisingly, Murray never managed to force a deciding set in any of his five Australian Open finals, losing in straight sets three times (2010, 2011, 2016), and in four sets twice (2013, 2015).

Back in 2015, Murray lost to Djokovic, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0, as the Serb celebrated on Rod Laver Arena.

Commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash had some choice words to say about Murray in the aftermath of his latest failure down under.

Pat Cash said Andy Murray needed ‘a good hard look in the mirror’ after the 2015 Australian Open final

The Aussie was far from impressed with Murray’s efforts in the 2015 final vs Djokovic.

“He hasn’t put up a great fight,” said Cash.

“He absolutely collapsed. Sorry, but you don’t put a rose tint on this. He melted down.

“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?’

“And it’s the same stuff that’s happened his whole career. 

“He needs to find the right balance between attack and defence. He’ll be sitting there thinking: ‘What happened, what did I do? I’m a disgrace, I’ve let everyone down.”

Cash thought it was time for Murray to decide if he truly wanted to become a ‘great’ player.

“He’s a seriously good player, but if he wants to be a great player, then he has to fix this element,” he said.

Would you consider Andy Murray a top 10 player of all time?

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“He has to have a good hard look in the mirror, and he’s needed to have a good hard look in the mirror for a long time.”

By that point, Murray was 2-6 in Grand Slam finals and had fallen out of the world’s top five.

Andy Murray’s Grand Slam record after the 2015 Australian Open

• 2008 US Open F [LOSS] vs Roger Federer
• 2010 Australian Open F [LOSS] vs Roger Federer
• 2011 Australian Open F [LOSS] vs Novak Djokovic
• 2012 Wimbledon F [LOSS] vs Roger Federer
• 2012 US Open F [WIN] vs Novak Djokovic
• 2013 Australian Open F [LOSS] vs Novak Djokovic
• 2013 Wimbledon F [WIN] vs Novak Djokovic
• 2015 Australian Open F [LOSS] vs Novak Djokovic

Murray himself wasn’t best pleased with the result, although he was more frustrated with Djokovic’s antics.

“The third set was frustrating,” he said.

“He fell on the ground after a couple of shots. It appeared that he was cramping, and I let that distract me a little bit.

Murray never won the Australian Open, but did, in fact, become the great player Cash was speaking about just one year later…

Andy Murray became the world number one in 2016

The British star enjoyed the best season of his career in 2016, winning nine titles.

Andy Murray’s title wins in 2016

• Italian Open (Masters 1000)
• Queen’s Club (ATP 500)
• Wimbledon (Grand Slam)
• Olympic gold (Olympics)
• China Open (ATP 500)
• Shanghai Masters (Masters 1000)
• Vienna Open (ATP 500)
• Paris Masters (Masters 1000)
• ATP Finals (ATP Finals)

Winning the ATP Finals in November, Murray beat Djokovic to the year-end number one ranking, becoming the first Brit to hold the top spot.

2016 ATP Tour year-end rankings

He remained world number one for 41 weeks, but failed to add another Grand Slam title to his trophy cabinet.

Injuries soon derailed Murray’s career, and he only won two more titles (2017 Dubai Tennis Championships, 2019 European Open) after his best-ever year in 2016.

Murray retired from tennis in 2024 upon the conclusion of the Paris Olympic Games.

He was by far the greatest British player of his generation, and one of a select few players to win Grand Slams during the era of the ‘big three’ (Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer).