When the draw was made for the Australian Open, defeat in the quarter-finals was pretty much a par score for Andy Murray.
I wrote in the column a few weeks ago that he had no chance of winning given the period of time he has had to recover from a three-month lay-off.
It was far too much to ask of him.
He teased us with his run to the last eight, and a bit of you started thinking maybe he could do it.
But, apart from the odd example like the Ryder Cup comeback, miracles don’t happen in sport.
It was a pretty soft introduction to the tournament in the early rounds for Murray and he took full advantage of it.
But as soon as he was physically stretched, the cracks started to appear in his game.
That’s exactly what you would expect.
The fourth set showed that the back was starting to creak because it wouldn’t have been used to the exertions that the Federer match demanded, and it took him away from his normal style of play.
I actually think that he can leave Melbourne feeling pretty good about the season ahead though.
There’s no suggestion that the back has suffered any damage – just the usual stresses and strains.
The games he has played will have done him the world of good.
And, if anything, he actually looks in better physical shape than before the operation.
I certainly think his mind will be in a better place than Novak Djokovic.
I said before that I thought appointing Boris Becker as his head coach was a gamble he didn’t need to take. And I’m not about to change my mind.
When he lost to Wawrinka it didn’t look like the usual Djokovic.
It was probably summed up by the point which lost him the game. When have you seen him rush the net like that at such a critical moment before?
It definitely seemed like a pre-determined Becker tactic.
By the time Wimbledon comes I would expect Murray to be in his best shape and ready to defend his title, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Becker is back in the BBC commentary box rather than the players’ box.