They are the familiar refrains of the British tennis player who so nearly did all that he asked of himself. What could I have done differently? Were my pre-championship build-up tournaments the right ones? Did I get my tactics right? Was I bold enough?

On the long journey home to the frozen north yesterday, those are the thoughts that would have dominated Andy Murray’s thinking. He may have required double the usual dose of Restavit to find sleep. Even then, the rather blurred images of Roger Federer winning grand-slam tournament No 16 and celebrating his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 victory will have been constant interruptions to a settled night.

Perspective is required, the more so when Murray is debated. The comments posted online whenever a story about him appears demonstrates how far a lot of people have to come to appreciate that he is a sportsman trying his utmost. Nothing more, nothing less. And this is a kill-or-be-killed profession unmatched in sport by any other unless it is performed with gloves on.

The Australian Open was, by some degree, Murray’s best grand-slam tournament and with each of them he competes in, the body and mind absorb more information, respond to different circumstances, take the hits and relish — or should — the experiences. When he pinched his eyes on the presentation dais yesterday, as he reflected on all of this and how much the unblinkered among Britain’s sporting followers were urging him to win, the knowledge that he did not come up to snuff hit him hard.

He said that he spoke to Judy, his mother, afterwards and she reminded him that he had just played one of the true greats of sport and had measured up superbly well. There would be more of these occasions and one day, he would surely prevail. To a 22-year-old that may seem preposterously vague but Murray is such a level-headed man, so unlike the person many think they know, he will take it all in and carry on.

Every heartache should serve to make him stronger.

“There’s obviously stuff I need to work on and get better at, I lost to the best player of all time so there’s not too much that can get loads better in my game,” he said. “I can improve on a few things, I’ll keep working on my serve and physically I can still get better. I would have liked to have played better further up the court today in the service box, I missed a few volleys I shouldn’t have done.

“You get to an age when you start to enjoy it more and get used to dealing with all the things that come with it. I don’t feel I have to play every week so I can spend more time at home and pick my schedule a lot better. I’m more relaxed than I was two years ago for sure.”

The allocation of tournaments is paramount to a player’s hope of reaching the peak of performance when the huge prizes are available. As title-hungry as Murray is (and 14 of them at his age is quite special), he knows he has to be imaginative in his tournament selection against the backdrop of a sport demanding the best of the best as often as is inhumanly possible. In the latest rankings he has risen to No 3 in the world behind Federer and Novak Djokovic, the Serb, and a place ahead of Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard whose failure to defend his champion’s points from last year has meant a slip to No 4, his lowest ranking since May, 2005.

Not only No 3 in official status, but there in blue-chip terms, too. There is not a tournament director in the world who would not want Murray in his field, the pressures on him to play are immense and he has to get those selections right. If he is ready mentally and physically, he will play in Marseilles, starting from February 15 and Dubai the following week, before turning his attention to the hard court Masters events in in Indian Wells, California where he lost to Nadal in last year’s final and Miami, where he is defending his title.

On the clay, he will play fewer tournaments and work more on his game in Barcelona with Alex Corretja, his coaching consultant, and Miles Maclagan, his coach. Then comes the serious section of the year, the French Open and Wimbledon in six tumultuous weeks.

“At Wimbledon, Roger is still going to be favourite for the next few years, while on the clay Rafa is the best player when he is fit,” Murray said. “Roger plays great on hard courts but there are guys who can beat him if they play their best. But if he is fit and motivated and his body holds up, which is the most important thing, then he can go on.”