Losing records in finals (and eventual wins)GORAN IVANISEVICLost: Wimbledon 1992 to Agassi, 1994 to Pete Sampras, 1998 to Sampras.Won: Wimbledon 2001 against Patrick Rafter.ANDRE AGASSILost: French Open 1990 to Andres Gomez, US Open 1990 to Sampras, French Open 1991 to Jim Courier. Won: Wimbledon 1992 against Ivanisevic.Agassi also went on to win four Australian Opens, two US Opens and a French Open.IVAN LENDLLost: French Open 1981 to Bjorn Borg, US Open 1982 to Jimmy Connors, 1983 Australian Open to Mats Wilander and US Open to Connors.Won: 1984 French Open against John McEnroe. Lendl went on to win two more French Opens, two Australian Opens and three US Opens.

ANDY Murray may find little consolation at present in the fact that he is not the only player to have lost his first few Grand Slam finals. Yet in time, he could benefit from the knowledge that other distinguished names in tennis not only shared that bad start in majors, but went on to recover from it.

Losing his first three finals - one in the US Open and two in Australia - was something that Murray shared with his boyhood idol Andre Agassi and with Goran Ivanisevic. Losing his first four means he is now equal with Ivan Lendl, the man who is now his coach.

All three of those men were branded perennial losers after they were beaten in their first few major finals. All three proved their critics wrong.

Ivanisevic was perhaps the most spectacular example of someone who had been written off before enjoying remarkable success. The Croatian was supposedly in the twilight of his career when, at the age of 29 and racked by injuries, he entered Wimbledon as a wildcard.

He had lost the final three times, once to Agassi and twice to Pete Sampras. His principal weapon was his booming serve, and his shoulder problems had nullified that strength, or so we were told. But in the summer of 2001, Ivanisevic pulled off the most improbable of triumphs. And he did it in part because of the sheer resilience he had always had, but also because of the lessons he had learned from his previous losses.

The Ivanisevic who lost in 1992, ‘94 and ‘98 was a dour and ill-tempered individual - at least on the court. Easily discouraged by adversity, he had a tendency to sulk and to claim that the authorities were out to get him.

By 2001, however, he had mellowed. Happy to laugh at himself, he became one of the best loved champions of recent times thanks to the humour he displayed in television interviews.

Sullen, grumpy, uncommunicative: the same charges were levelled at Murray during the early stages of his career. But he too has matured, becoming less earnest, and his tearful speech after losing to Roger Federer on Sunday has probably changed that prior perception for good.

Agassi, too, was regarded as a hot head during the early years of his career. He refused to play at Wimbledon because he thought it was stuffily traditional, and he was at times an ungracious winner, who liked to poke fun at his beaten rivals rather than offer condolences.

The American had Ivanisevic to thank for breaking his losing run in major finals when, after going back on his refusal to play at Wimbledon, he won the title there in 1992. He had previously lost in two French Open finals and one US Open final, and, like the man from Spilt, had been saddled with an image as a spoiled and self-indulgent man; a bit of a brat.

Agassi not only broke his major duck at his fourth attempt, he went on to win eight Grand Slams in total. Like Ivanisevic, his ability to learn from his early defeats and to mature as a person is something which Murray can emulate.

The best precedent from which the Scot can learn, however, is Lendl. The Czech is the classic example of someone who was written off as a runner-up. It took him longer than Agassi or Ivanisevic to prove his critics wrong, but in the end he did so comprehensively, winning three French Opens, three US Opens and two Australian Opens. He reached two Wimbledon finals, in 1986 and 1987, but his style was not best suited to grass in the days when it played far more quickly than it does now.

Lendl only became Murray’s coach at the turn of the year, and he has already made a difference. Last week Boris Becker summed up his contribution well, saying: “Lendl has a winner’s mentality. He leaves no stone unturned. He played in my generation and he was very methodical, very machine-like, and he was the first one with the diet, the physical trainer, the racket-stringer.

“He has affected Murray’s attitude and the way he competes. Having Lendl there in his corner, always being focused and not giving much emotion away, is starting to be ingrained into the Murray DNA. Murray’s maturing on the tennis court a bit quicker than he maybe would have without Lendl.”

That maturing process will continue over the next few months - indeed, dealing with the pain of Sunday’s defeat will be an integral part of it. Lendl knows better than most how to deal with that pain, and Murray could have no better person in his corner as he goes through that process.

Losing records in finals (and eventual wins)

GORAN IVANISEVIC

Lost: Wimbledon 1992 to Agassi, 1994 to Pete Sampras, 1998 to Sampras.

Won: Wimbledon 2001 against Patrick Rafter.

ANDRE AGASSI

Lost: French Open 1990 to Andres Gomez, US Open 1990 to Sampras, French Open 1991 to Jim Courier.

Won: Wimbledon 1992 against Ivanisevic.

Agassi also went on to win four Australian Opens, two US Opens and a French Open.

IVAN LENDL

Lost: French Open 1981 to Bjorn Borg, US Open 1982 to Jimmy Connors, 1983 Australian Open to Mats Wilander and US Open to Connors.

Won: 1984 French Open against John McEnroe.

Lendl went on to win two more French Opens, two Australian Opens and three US Opens.