It took Ivan Lendl four grand-slam final defeats before he broke through to win his first major. Even that was from two sets down to John McEnroe in the final of the 1984 French Open, of which “Super Mac” still suffers nightmarish recollections. Andy Murray should not be too down on himself.

Lendl’s determination was such that if he improved little by little, stayed true to himself and used the comments of those who derided him as a source of inspiration, it would happen for him one day. At the end of a career distinguished by being regarded as one of the most ferocious competitors the game had seen, he played in 19 grand-slam finals, winning eight of them. His is the attitude Murray needs to adopt if — or should it not be when? — he is to become a grand-slam champion.

At the end of an Australian Open distinguished by Murray playing quite exceptional tactical, technical and disciplined tennis, he will feel like a loser and, while technically true, that is harsh on the Briton. He played 24 and a bit sets (Rafael Nadal retired at 3-0 down in the third set of the quarter-final), losing four. Granted, three of those were in the final, but Murray knows he is a much better player than a year ago and anyone who would argue differently does not know the sport.

So what does Murray have to do to win? Wait for Roger Federer to retire is the glib answer, but that is a long way off for the 28-year-old. All Murray can do is knuckle down, work harder still, believe in himself and, fundamentally, when the opportunities present themselves, impose his will on matches. That is not easy because he will always have a game that is at heart reactive and that can get a tennis player only so far. It is when you are on the attack, when you are the aggressor, that the adrenalin truly flows. He must remember how he played against Nadal, remember how good that felt, and have the courage of his many convictions.

Murray probably becomes tired of people saying that it is a matter of when, not if, he wins a grand-slam title. He cannot help being born in Britain, where the sport-loving public yearn for a champion. He is a special talent, as was Lendl. Reflecting on what made the difference, the Czech-born American said: “The key was knowing that I had to make changes to improve. I was just never quite sure I was going about it the right way. You cannot be 100 per cent sure the changes will work — a lot of guys give up when they don’t get immediate results. You have to be incredibly patient.” Over to you, Andy.