Djokovic downs Murray for fourth Australian Open title

It wasn’t the titanic battle that many hoped for, but for much of the intense encounter between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the two best men in the game today fought with visceral urgency in an effort to gain an elusive edge over the other. It took Djokovic three hours and 40 minutes of bestial battle to score a 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-2 victory to earn his fourth Australian Open title. In doing so, the Serbian emulated Andre Agassi, from whom he received the trophy and became the first man since Roy Emerson to win a hat trick of titles in Melbourne.

It was a bruising battle between two equal men, almost; some of the Tennis was frighteningly brilliant and when it was not, these dogged warriors battled for every inch on the court as if their life depended on it for three of those four sets. In the fourth set though, Murray struggled with discomfort in his left leg and the defending champion ran him ragged with some deep groundstrokes mixed with the occasional drop shot to race away to victory. Murray had his chances too – especially that game in the second set where he had Djokovic down at 0-40, but he failed to close the lid and Djokovic raised his game a notch to take the sixth Grand Slam of his burgeoning career.

The numbers were telling – with the first serve almost even, Djokovic won as many as 66% of his second serve points, while Murray managed just 46%. The Serbian also created as many as 11 break point opportunities, converting three of them while the vainly resilient Scot failed to capitalise on any of the four that came his way. Djokovic never allowed Murray to ride the cart, and even though the Serbian had a negative differential of 14, he lead Murray 47-29 in winners and some of them came at critical junctures, like those converted break points that helped him surpass his opponent in the third and fourth sets. Interestingly, Djokovic was frequently inside the court, commanding his opponent by winning the point on as many as 35 off his 41 forays to the net.

Andre Agassi, the four time Australian Open champion, carried the shining Norman Brooks Challenge cup out to the Rod Laver Arena and it was obvious even from your television set, that the packed stadium was gripped by a sense of expectation about this 18^th episode between the two leading stars of Tennis. In many ways, the finals – a second consecutive contest between the two men at this stage of a Grand Slam – underlined the fact that the baton was clearly being passed to Djokovic and Murray from the almost mythical Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Ivan Lendl has added an aggressive dimension to the already fertile game of his ward and Murray wasted no time in biting into the match – he moved in on the very first point to punch away a forehand up the line winner to declare his ambition and intent. In the fifth game, Djokovic made three unforced errors to slip into a spot of bother from the relative comfort of 30-0. But then, a big serve first and an outstanding passing shot that curled in from beyond the net post, bailed the Serbian out of distress.

The set was on serve at 2-3, but Murray was already struggling with his first serve, bringing in a meagre 40%. The Scot has an almost embarrassing second ball, and it was not nearly good enough to shield its master from the strike power at the disposal of the man across the net. Djokovic took advantage to push Murray repeatedly to the corner, but the Scot battled tooth and nail to survive four break points before eventually holding with a big serve that set up an easy put away from the net.

It was still early but at 15-15 in the seventh game, Djokovic reminded Murray about the task at hand. The Serbian lay horizontally on the court as he stretched himself to retrieve a forehand before recovering to clinch the point with a backhand winner, bringing the gasping stadium on its feet. But brilliance or not, neither man was ceding ground as they battled along to a tie-break.

Djokovic, the aggressor for much of the first set, started the tie-break on the back foot, gifting the mini-break with a double fault. Murray then ran his opponent from side to side before nailing a ferocious inside out forehand winner to consolidate at 3-0. Djokovic slipped further when he invested a trifle too much in a backhand that sailed long to make it 0-4. With the tie-breaker slipping out of his grasp, Djokovic must have surely wondered about those five break points that he failed to convert.

The men changed sides at 5-1 for Murray, when Djokovic sent a forehand long. The Scot had been on the back foot for much of the first set. At 6-2, on Murray’s second set point, Djokovic sailed another forehand long to gift the set to the Scot against the grain of play. Djokovic was paying the price for making 25 unforced errors to just 9 from Murray – with some of them coming in the inopportune moments inside the breaker. It didn’t matter that Murray didn’t have an opportunity till the tie-break, as he hung around with the resilience of a wolf around the hunter’s meat.

The champion’s fortress had been breached and Djokovic appeared rattled by it. In the second game, the dispirited Serbian fell to 0-40, making a couple of forehand errors fuelled by a bout of miscalculated aggression. But the imminent threat woke up the Serbian, who worked his way back into the game before eventually holding to 1-1.

With Murray serving much better than the first set and Djokovic preoccupied with getting some rhythm back into his groundstrokes, the second contained a series of engaging rallies, but neither man could collect enough points on the other’s serve to make a meaningful dent. The sense of relief on the face of Novak at finally managing an easy hold in the tenth game signalled that the Serbian was finally at peace with himself, even though each point was a struggle in this titanic duel between these gladiators.

A third double fault in the match for Djokovic left him vulnerable at 30-30 in the twelfth game, but typically big serving Serb ensured a second straight breaker. Djokovic dealt an ace down the middle this time as he kept it on serve at 2-1. On the fifth point, Murray was distracted by a floating feather and the double fault gave the Serbian a mini-break to 3-1. Murray failed to send a backhand across the net, after a brutally long rally to afford Djokovic three set points at 6-3. Murray ended the set for Djokovic, when he failed to get any elevation on a backhand slice that settled into the net to even the match at one set each. In an exact reversal of roles, this time it was Murray who had all the three break points but failed to convert before the Serbian ran away with the breaker.

A brief time out was called for the trainer to tend to the blisters on Murray’s right foot and there was no mistaking the sense of urgency for the Scot, considering his four hour long battle against Federer in the semi-finals. The defending champion on the other hand was relatively fresh, having two days to rest after annihilating David Ferrer at express speed.

In the sixth game of the third set, Murray lost two straight points to allow Djokovic to rally into the game from a position of strength. But at 40-30, he cramped Djokovic for space with a serve close to the body and let out a few guttural sounds of encouragement to himself. Two and a three quarter hours into this intriguing battle, at 4-3 in the third set, neither player had found a break of serve.

And then came the storm – Djokovic mounted a brutal attack in the crucial eighth game. Winning a 36 stroke rally with a powerful off forehand that brought the beast in him to life. Another forehand winner left Murray facing three break points against the best player in the world. The Scot saved a couple with a little help from the Serbian, but found the tape on the third to leave Djokovic serving for the third set. The Serbian took it in style, holding at love with a couple of service winners to take the lead – two sets to one.

A clearly unsettled Murray engaged in a futile conversation with the chair umpire about the boisterous crowd and the unrest spilled over into the first game of the fourth set. But at deuce, Murray picked off a half volley off his shoelaces for a winner that was applauded even by his opponent and the danger was averted, but only just. Murray offered two more break points in the third game and Djokovic accepted the second to take a 2-1 lead.

With the end in sight, Djokovic stepped on the gas when he earned break point in the fifth game with a stretched backhand that forced the error from Murray. The Scot dug himself a deep hole with a double fault, leaving the champion ahead 4-1. With Djokovic serving for the championship, Murray struck a brilliant backhand up the line winner to make one final imprint for the night. Djokovic earned his first match point when Murray sank a backhand in the net and completed his mission when another tired stroke from Murray found its way to the net.