"Honestly, there were a few points where I don't know how I pulled them off." A quarter-final fixture awaits Mischa Zverev, who will face the winner of the match between Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori. For Murray, it was a case of missed opportunities in a gruelling three-and-a-half-hour encounter. "It just wasn't meant to be. He served very well when he needed to, especially when he was behind in games," Murray said at his press conference. "He deserved to win because ... he played great when he was down, and also in the important moments. "I was kind of behind in the last couple of sets the whole way. But the first two sets, I had chances. "I was up a break I think in both of them pretty early. Couldn't convert my opportunities."

There were some nerves as Zverev served for the match - he netted one straightforward overhead - but he recovered his composure to go through to the quarter-finals when Murray sent a forehand long.

"I got excited," Zverev added. "It was easy to stay aggressive but it was definitely tough to stay calm ... I was surprised at how I managed to get so many first serves in.

"It means the world to me and it means a lot that my family is here and my box is full."

Zverev sat in the same box on Saturday watching his 19-year-old brother Alexander, tipped by many to be a future grand slam champion, lose over five sets to Rafa Nadal.

It will now be the 29-year-old older sibling, however, who will take the family name into the final week of a grand slam for the first time.

Murray, who has lost five finals at Melbourne Park, four of them to Djokovic, said he would be back.

"I've had tough losses in my career in the past," he said. "I've come back from them. This is a tough one (but) I'm sure I'll come back okay from it."