Andy Murray might have lost yet another final to Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open on Sunday, but he still took plenty of positives from his showing at the tournament.

Murray – who was defending champion in the Spanish capital – now trails Djokovic 23-9 head-to-head and is down 4-0 against the Serbian on clay.

Murray was unable to successfully defend his title in Madrid, losing the decider 6-2 3-6 6-3.

But despite his unflattering record against the world number one, Murray says he enjoys stepping out against Djokovic whenever he can.

"We've been in the top of the game for a very long time. I hope I can stay there for longer. Some players are playing into their late 30's now," Murray said after the final.

"I don't know if I'll be able to do that, but hopefully I still have a few more good years left.

"I think I need to start winning a few more to call it a great rivalry. We’ve played in a lot of big matches. Up until the last couple of years it was extremely close.

He added: "Today I needed to keep my sort of intensity very high and concentrate on every point. I made a few mistakes in the middle of the third. The best players capitalise on that.

"In the last game, I don't know how many break point chances I had, but must have been six or seven.

"Both of us were pretty clinical on the break points up until the last game for me. That's why he's number one just now. He fought very hard in that game and served well when he was a bit nervous.

"At the end, he came up with some big serves and got himself some free points."