Novak Djokovic, the top seed, won his fifth Australian Open men’s singles trophy, beating Andy Murray 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0 in the men’s final on the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
The match was at times ugly, at times pretty, but never less than fascinating as Djokovic proved once more to be the physically and mentally tougher of the two in Melbourne.
The top seed and heavy favorite played like one for the first five games of the match, racing into a 4-1 lead. This was the Djokovic who had so ruthlessly beaten Murray in their 2011 final in Melbourne, the four time champion down under, and the player fans expected to see show up.
Murray, a three time runner-up in Melbourne, hung in there, though, and when Djokovic’s level inevitably dropped, he broke back and made a match of it.
Matters really started going Murray’s way when Djokovic, leading 5-3, stumbled going for a volley and hurt his hand. At 5-4, the Serbian failed to serve for the set, and, a couple of games later, the set went into a tiebreak.
Murray got an early mini-break at 2-2, getting the better of Djokovic in the rallies, absorbing his pace and sending the ball back with interest. A backhand down the line winner to end a 19 shot rally for 4-2 showed Murray was feeling confident he could take on Djokovic at his favorite game and turn around his 0-3 Australian Open finals deficit.
But a double fault on the next point on Murray’s serve handed the mini-break back to the Serbian. The top seed then wore Murray down from the baseline in a typical rally between the two as they felt each other out from the baseline, waiting to see who would pull the trigger or error first. It was Murray who made the errors, and pulled the trigger, too, a forehand volley winner leveling the breaker at 5-5.
Murray kept with his aggressive approach and came in to volley on the next point only for a Djokovic lob to send him running back to the baseline and though the Scot took command of the point again and came to the net for a second try, Djokovic was pleased to have a target and forced Murray to go for too much and send the volley long. Djokovic had set point and took it with a second serve, one of many effective second deliveries he would come up with over the course of the match, into Murray’s body that the Scot hit into the net.
The set had lasted 72 minutes, and a battle of stamina, not just tennis, looked ready to be ground out, much like their 2013 final which took two hours to decide the first two sets.
Murray broke early in the second set as Djokovic struggled with his movement and balance, but the Serbian, who went from seemingly immobile to tracking down every ball coming his way, broke back.
At 1-2, Djokovic’s movement was back to his best as he chased down a volley and hit a winning passing shot to hold serve for 2-2.
As Murray’s aggressive shots went out, Djokovic could not put a foot wrong. A huge return at 0-30 gave him break point. He took it with a smash to lead 3-2.
Now in full flow, just as he had been at the start of the match, Djokovic imposed himself with a commanding service game, winning it with an ace and was 4-2 up.
Then the match took another twist. At 4-2, some protesters ran on to the court and the players had to be cordoned off as security stepped in to take the protesters away. The break affected Djokovic’s momentum and rhythm, and Murray broke back with a huge forehand down the line winner.
Murray went on to lead 5-4 and had a set point on Djokovic’s serve but made an error. Djokovic survived that ten minute game and held for 5-5. He then held a break point, but this time it was Murray who survived as the match grew in intensity, the players and the crowd aware it was crucial for Murray to win the set if they wanted a match.
The two players held serve and went into a second set tiebreak. Djokovic was rattled on the very first point as the umpire did not call a let cord and Murray took a 1-0 lead.
Murray raced into a 6-2 lead as Djokovic could not shake off his annoyance with the umpire and the Scot sensed his moment had come to take control of the match. The Serbian saved two set points but with Murray leading 6-4, the Scot struck a big return and Djokovic netted a volley to hand Murray the second set after 80 minutes of grueling play.
Murray had the momentum now and Djokovic went 15-40 down on his service game in the first game of the third set and appeared to be cramping. A netted forehand down the line put a stumbling Djokovic a break down.
But Murray, who was now leading the final, could not consolidate and Djokovic pulled back to 1-1.
At 3-3 and serving, Djokovic saved break point to hold, his movement again coming back to him as he moved Murray around the court and then came in to hit a backhand volley and won the point. Murray, who ran down the ball fruitlessly and ended up stumbling around the net and onto the other side of the court, could only look on in disbelief as Djokovic held up his fist and many of the crowd were on their feet.
Djokovic held for 4-3 and then held break point on Murray’s serve as the Scot began to miss, his missed opportunity in the previous game and his opponent’s mysterious lapses in form, as wild as the twists and turns of the match itself, seeming to irritate him. ‘How can you do it?’ Murray cried as Djokovic ran down a volley and hit a winner into the open court, an endeavor that earned him three break points. The Scot saved the first with a service winner. On the second, he missed his first delivery and then rushed the second, double faulting to hand Djokovic a 4-3 lead. The Scot smashed his racket.
It was not just his racket that was broken. His body and mind were damaged, too. As Djokovic began to dominate, the Scot cursed and winced, and the Serbian did not drop another game as he took the third set 6-3 and led 5-0 in the fourth. Murray had spent all his energy making a match of it in the first two sets and had nothing more to give, while Djokovic, as only he does, was ready to stay out on his favorite arena all night if he had to.
On his second championship point, the Serbian served out wide, took on the short return with his forehand and Murray netted his attempted passing shot and the championship was the top seed’s.
The Serbian raised his arm and breathed a sigh of relief before a curt handshake with the runner-up.
Accepting his winner’s trophy from six time Australian Open Champion Roy Emerson Djokovic talked of how proud he was to win five Australian Open titles and be close to an all time great like Emerson.
The Serbian now has the record for open era Australian Open trophies while Murray is the first player to go 0-4 in Melbourne finals.
Djokovic now has 8 Grand Slam trophies, joining Fred Perry, Ken Rosewall, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi.
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