Andy Murray currently unable to match Novak Djokovic's standard, says Peter Fleming

Andy Murray has plenty of work to do to reach Novak Djokovic’s standards, says Peter Fleming.

The Brit suffered a 6-3 6-4 defeat to the world number one in the China Open semi-final on Saturday morning.

It was the 27-year-old’s sixth defeat to the Serb in seven matches and Sky Sports pundit Fleming reckons Murray’s coach Amelie Mauresmo will be concerned by his inability to match the US Open champion.

“Mauresmo must have been the most uncomfortable person watching that match,” he said.

It looked like one way traffic out there.

“She has been brought in to try and get Andy back in the conversation and there’s still more work to do. It looked like one way traffic out there.

“Andy had to do his very best just to try and get back into the second set. But he only made seven winners, had 22 unforced errors and only won 33% of points on his second serve – when they got into a back court rally Djokovic was the guy who was not only bossing them but also prevailed.”

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Whilst Murray showed glimpses of his undoubted talent during the second set he was unable to sustain his assault on Djokovic and was eventually overcome by his impressive opponent.

Murray won the Shenzhen Open last week and Fleming accepted tiredness may have played a part in the Scot’s performance. However, he says Murray knows he must find a way to get back to top form, so he can match the world’s best.

“Of course there were moments from Murray because he’s a great player but moments aren’t good enough against Djokovic. You have to do it time after time,” said Fleming.

“Djokovic’s defences were impregnable and once he stepped up to the ball he put Murray off balance and Murray didn’t have the answer. It meant the Scot had to try and go for the line. He had to hit perfect shots and ultimately he wasn’t able to do it.

“Murray must know there’s something more required. Is that just mental? Perhaps. But the question is why was he out of sorts? Was he not sharp enough, not moving well enough to compete with Djokovic? Djokovic broke pretty easily at 4-4 and that was the end of it.

“Maybe Murray was a little jaded today – he’s played 10,12 days in a row and that’s not easy. All is not lost but there’s still work to do.”