Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray yet again to claim sixth Australian Open crown
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Updated 31/01/2016 at 15:34 GMT
Novak Djokovic claimed his sixth Australian Open and an 11th Grand Slam title with his fourth victory over Andy Murray in the final at Melbourne Park.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic (R) shakes hands with Britain's Andy Murray while holding the men's singles trophy after winning their final match at the Australian Open
Image credit: Reuters
Murray was no match for the world No. 1, who brushed him aside in a convincing 6-1 7-5 7-6(3) triumph on Rod Laver Arena.
The Scot - who lost to Djokovic in the final in 2011, 2013 and 2015, as well as Roger Federer in 2010 - continued his painful losing streak at Australian Open finals thanks to an error-strewn performance in which he never really looked capable of knocking Djokovic out of his stride for any significant period of time.
The Serb moves onto 11 Grand Slam titles as his almost unprecedented era of domination continues, with his fourth win in the past five Grand Slams. After vanquishing Murray again, he bent down to kiss the court.
"I feel like I've been here before," said Murray. "I'd like to congratulate Novak for six Australian Opens, it's an incredible feat; also for what he has done in the past year. Incredible consistency. I just want to say well done to him and his team – great job."
Murray is soon to be a father with his wife Kim expecting their first child, and the world number two had a touching message for his partner as he prepares to fly back and be by her side.
To my wife Kim, who I’m sure is going to be watching back home. You have been a legend the last two weeks. Thanks for all of your support – I’ll be on the next flight home.
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'I'll be on the next flight home' - Murray's emotional message to Kim
Djokovic paid tribute to Murray after extending his recent record over the Brit to 11 wins from 12 meetings.
“I need to pay the respect to Andy and his team for another tournament,” he said. “You are a great champion and a great friend. I’m sure in the future you are going to have more opportunities to fight for this trophy. I would also like to wish you and Kim a healthy delivery of your baby and I hope you will experience a feeling like no other before, because that’s what happened to me and my wife.”
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Serbia's Novak Djokovic kisses the men's singles trophy after winning his final match against Britain's Andy Murray at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 31, 2016.
Image credit: Reuters
First set
Murray, chasing his third Grand Slam title after victories at Wimbledon and the US Open, had a break point in the opening service game of the match on Rod Laver Arena but Djokovic secured the hold and the world number two was made to pay for his missed opportunity.
Having been broken in the first service game of his semi-final against Milos Raonic, Murray unfortunately repeated the trick with a double fault handing Djokovic an early advantage, and it was one the Serb was enthusiastic to press home.
Djokovic did not have to reach the supreme level he showed in blowing Roger Federer away in the first two sets of his own semi-final, but a compliant Murray was offering too little resistance, a series of forehand errors helping Djokovic open up a 4-0 lead with a second break.
There were long faces in the Murray box, but, belatedly, the Scot managed to string together some more impressive shot sequences to gain a foothold in the match at 5-1, and prevent becoming the first man since 1953 to be bagelled in the first set of the Australian Open final.
A minor shift in momentum could be sensed when Murray took Djokovic to deuce as he served for the first set, but it was clinched, 6-1, in half an hour. The brutal news for the Scot was that he had never beaten his big rival after losing the first set.
Second set
A hold to start the second helped to quell Murray’s nerves further and another crucial hold followed at 1-1. Murray clung on for 12 minutes against the Djokovic assault, saving four break points, before some big serving dug him out of a hole.
The Scot applied some pressure to the Djokovic serve, not firing at full strength, at 3-2 in the second set but errors crept back into his game to hand his opponent a reprieve. And he was punished, again, when Djokovic broke to open up a 4-3 lead.
But Murray showed resolve, breaking back immediately to electrify the crowd and winning the game when a Djokovic appeal failed following a scorching Murray winner which kept the line. Murray then held under extreme pressure, saving more break points, to go 5-4 up in a gruelling second set.
Murray had chances to put Djokovic under extreme pressure but his shots were deserting him just when he needed them and Djokovic raised his game at just the right time to break again for a 6-5 lead and then serve out the set, putting him within touching distance of his 11th Grand Slam title.
Third set
Djokovic sought to make quick work of the third set and broke Murray’s serve again in the very first game, clinching the break with an absolutely astonishing backhand winner on the stretch (above) which just clipped the line.
With a record of 171-1 after winning the first two sets, Djokovic seemed certain to retain his title, and claim a sixth Australian Open, but Murray would not resign himself to his fate and enjoyed his best game of the match when breaking back for 3-3 in the third set.
But after the third set was taken to a tie-break, Murray collapsed to 6-1, going on to lose 7-3 to a man whose greatness cannot be disputed, and whose legend continues to grow.
Studio analysis: Murray couldn't cope with 'genius of Djokovic'
Virginia Wade and Greg Rusedski gave their response to Novak Djokovic's dominant win over Andy Murray at the Australian Open.
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Studio analysis: Murray couldn't cope with 'genius of Djokovic'
Djokovic's domination in numbers
- Djokovic (2008, 2011-13, 2015-16) has now won six Australian Opens, matching the record of Roy Emerson (1961, 1963-67).
- Djokovic now owns 46 hard-court titles, level with American Andre Agassi and only behind Roger Federer (60).
- He has 11 Grand Slam titles, drawing level on the all-time list with Australian Rod laver and Swede Bjorn Borg. Ahead of him are Emerson (12), Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal (14) and Roger Federer (17).
- Djokovic has won seven consecutive tournaments.
- Since losing to Federer at last year's Cincinnati final in August, Djokovic has won 38 of his next 39 matches.
- He has beaten world number two Murray 11 times from 12 clashes since losing to him in the 2013 Wimbledon final.
- Djokovic is on a 21-match winning streak in Grand Slams. He has not lost a Grand Slam match since he was defeated by Stan Wawrinka in the 2015 Roland Garros final.
- He has held the ATP number one ranking since July, 2014.
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