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Melbourne - Britain's Andy Murray refused to blame his blisters and hamstring trouble for defeat in the Australian Open final - but he admitted a falling feather may have played a role.
The world No 3 initially looked firmly in control, but a blunder in the second-set tie-breaker helped hand the momentum to defending champion Novak Djokovic, who never gave it back.
US Open champion Murray, a set up and 2-2 in the tie-breaker, halted in the middle of a second serve to catch a white feather as it floated to the ground.
VIDEO: Novak Djokovic v Andy Murray, highlights
It broke his concentration and he double-faulted, helping Djokovic win the set. The Serb then reeled off the third and fourth sets for victory as Murray was increasingly hampered by foot blisters and a tight hamstring.
Afterwards, Murray conceded that stopping for the feather, from one of dozens of white seagulls flying around Rod Laver Arena, may have been a mistake.
"I mean, I could have served. It just caught my eye before I served. I thought it was a good idea to move it," Murray said late on Sunday.
"Maybe it wasn't because I obviously double-faulted. No, you know, at this level it can come down to just a few points here or there."
Djokovic called the double-fault "crucial" as he was able to finally gain a foothold in the match and win 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-2 for his third successive Australian Open title.
"He made a crucial double-fault there. I tried to use the momentum and step in on the second serve. I played it well," Djokovic told Australian TV.
However, Murray, 25, said his best chance for victory came at the start of the second set, when he let Djokovic off the hook by blowing three break points.
"Probably my biggest chance was at the beginning of the second set, didn't quite get it," he said. "When Novak had his chance (to break) at the end of the third, he got his."
And despite constantly grimacing, and noticeably slowing, towards the end of the match, Murray insisted his blisters and sore hamstring had not made the difference between defeat and victory.
"It's just a bit sore when you're running around. It's not like pulling a calf muscle or something. It just hurts when you run," he said of the foot blisters.
"But it's not something that stops you from playing. There's certain things that hurt when you run or hit the ball, especially blisters, but it's not something that stops you from playing or stops you from running for balls."
Murray missed out on becoming the only man to win his first two major titles back-to-back. But the Briton, who wept when he lost the 2010 Melbourne final and last year's Wimbledon decider, took his defeat calmly.
"No one's ever won a Slam, the immediate one after winning their first one. It's not the easiest thing to do. And I got extremely close," he said.
"So I have to try and look at the positives of the last few months, and I think I'm going in the right direction."
