James Ward believes that "one or two" points made the difference during his Australian Open defeat to Fernando Verdasco.

After the opening two sets were shared, Ward squandered a 4-2 lead and a set point in a tie-break before falling to a four-set loss, but the British number two has insisted that he was content with his performance.

After the match, the 27-year-old said: "It's come down to one or two points. It was tough but I thought that I played well.

"Of course if I'd held two more times in the third, I've won the set, but it was tough conditions out there, very windy, we both played well. Even in the tie-break I gave myself a chance."

Ward joined Heather Watson and Kyle Edmund in exiting the tournament on Tuesday.