Only Andy Murray could find peace in the midst of mayhem, tranquillity in the middle of a riot.

It is just the way of things with him.

So it was that when a group of protesters interrupted his Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic, it was the making of him. He had just lost the first set, taken the lead in the second and then dropped his serve. He was rattled. He was frustrated and he was letting Djokovic take control. And then a couple of people ran on to the court demanding rights for refugees (their motto was "Australia Open for Refugees") and all hell broke loose.

A cordon of security guards ran to protect the two players while more security guards evicted the protesters. It took five minutes to clear the court, five minutes in which Murray rebooted his concentration and came back to get about Djokovic like a man possessed. One set all.

And so it was that when Djokovic acted as if he was on his last legs at 2-0 down in the third set, it was the breaking of Murray. Momentarily, the Scot allowed his concentration to waver and Djokovic seized the opportunity - that was all it took. In a couple of loose games, a spell of maybe 10 minutes, the whole momentum of the match shifted. From a war of attrition between two of the strongest, fittest men on the tour, a relentless barrage of winners from both sides of the net that the Rod Laver Arena had not seen before, the match became one-way traffic.

They call it 'playing spider' around these parts. The spider curls itself up into a ball and looks for all the world to be dead. And then, when the prey, the hapless fly, thinks the coast is clear, the spider pounces: Spider 1, Fly 0. Djokovic has the routine down to a tee.

Murray should have known better, of course, as he admitted afterwards. He knows Djokovic of old and has seen the Serb push himself to the limit and beyond to win a major trophy. Whether the world No.1 was injured, cramping or simply running out of puff, Murray should have known that Djokovic would try to come back. But Murray let himself be distracted and Djokovic was on his way to be being crowned king again (this was his fifth Australian Open title).

But for those first two sets, that first two and a half hours, Melbourne was treated to something special. Even the four blokes in vests, the spectacularly tuneless quartet who follow all of Murray's matches in Melbourne were silenced by what they were seeing. Admittedly, this came as something of a relief. Every year they come with their songs and ditties and in the eight years or so they have been supporting their man, they have failed to hit a single note in any of the songs they have sung. They are mad keen Murray men - and, alas, have a limitless supply of lyrics - but they could only sit and gawp at the stunning display in front of them.

Melbourne has a large Serb population and they had turned out in force to support the world No.1. From all corners of the stadium came the cry of "hajde Nole" ("come on, Nole"). The response from the Saltire-waving Scots in the house was equally vocal but soon the Australian voices joined in - no-one wanted this match to end. For those first two sets, this was a contest like no other.

After being caught on camera saying a few rude words during her fiancé's last match, Kim Sears had decided to have the last laugh and was wearing a new tee-shirt. Emblazoned across the front was the message "Parental Advisory - Explicit Content". On a normal finals day, she would have made a few headlines but not last night. No-one could take their eyes off her intended and his tormentor, even when Djokovic was running away with the fourth set.

"I didn't know she was going to wear it today," Murray said later. "I saw that she bought it yesterday when she went out shopping. She said she walked past it and she said she had to buy it. But I didn't know if she was going to wear the shirt today or not - she wasn't wearing it when I left the hotel. It was a funny shirt."

At least it was something to make Murray smile on a deeply disappointing night. He knew he had had it within his reach to win but he knew that he had let it slip away in those few minutes in the third set. Some players might take months to recover from such a loss - and he has taken his time to recover from his three previous defeats in Melbourne finals - but such is the contrariness of Murray's mind, it might be just the spark he needs.

He has come a long way since the dark days of last season and still 2015 has only just begun. If he can play like he did for all but the last set and a half of the Australian Open, he could have a sensational year. After all, this is the bloke who found serenity in the middle of a riot.