After four hours, fifty minutes of the best tennis human beings can play, Novak Djokovic overcame Andy Murray to go on to the finals of the Australian Open tennis tournament. The final tally was 6–3, 3–6, 6(4)–7(7), 6–1, 7–5.
Djokovic and Murray fought an amazing physical, mental, and emotional battle; each was tested, and in his way, each triumphed.
Djokovic swept Murray in straight sets at last year’s Australian Open final; in fact, the Scottish player has yet to win a set in a Grand Slam final. For Murray to stay with Djokovic though five sets was a noteworthy achievement.
Djokovic’s achievement is obvious: he won the match and will go on to face Rafael Nadal in the final.
Number-one ranked Novak Djokovic proved that he is still on the form which won him three majors and 70 matches in 2011. Despite some apparent breathing problems early in the match, the 24-year-old Serb never faltered physically. He ran more than Murray, but never showed signs of tiring and recharging, as Murray had to halfway through the fifth set.
The #1-ranked Serbs’s return game made a lot of the difference. Both players won about 65 percent of their first-serve points, but Djokovic won 45 percent of his second serves; Murray, only 30. The lanky Serb often sent back returns harder to handle than the serves he faced.
Accuracy mattered also. Winners were about the same for both players (49 for Djokovic, 47 for Murray) but Djokovic only hit 69 unforced errors to Murray’s 86. The Serb won 183 points to his opponent’s 161—the difference was the accuracy.
Andy Murray might have lost the match, but he showed strength and depth that he has never had in the past. Whether it is experience or the effects of his new coach Ivan Lendl, the 24-year-old Scot stayed calm and focused throughout the match. There was no shouting at his box, no grabbing on (possibly psychosomatic) injuries—Murray kept his head in the game no matter how tense.
After losing the first set, Murray fought back to win the second. He stuck with it through the third-set tie-break, and even after losing the fourth set 6–1 in only 25 minutes, Murray kept his composure.
Fitness has always been one of Murray’s principle weapons, and he showed great fitness in the nearly five-hour contest. After seeming drained early in the final set, he found something more, and very nearly took the match to another tie-break.
Murray’s best efforts—and this was likely his best effort to date—were not enough. Novak Djokovic now leads 7–5 in their career matchup, and will play his third Australian Open title.
