Novak Djokovic wins fifth Australian Open: What to know about title
MELBOURNE, Australia – On the court he says he loves more than any other in the world, Novak Djokovic showed no mercy on Sunday night in the Australian Open final.
Digging into the corners and tracking down ball after ball after ball (after ball), Djokovic once again won the Australian Open on Sunday night, his fourth title in five years showing an utter display of outright athleticism, grit and mental fortitude.
It's a eighth major championship for the 27-year-old from Serbia, who took down world No. 6 Andy Murray of Great Britain in a going-away win, his fourth out of five years at this event and fifth overall.
Scoreline: (1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. (6) Andy Murray (GBR) 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0
It's a score that doesn't give this match its due diligence in a battle that was an exhaustive, highly physical affair from the first point. Three hours and 39 minutes later, however, it was finished, Djokovic running up his perfect Australian Open final record to 5-0 while Murray lost his fourth final here in four tries.
What it means: The eighth major triumph inches ahead Djokovic's win-loss mark in Grand Slam deciders to 8-7 with this victory. He's won here in Melbourne in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 and now this year, a third final win over Murray (2011, 2013 and 2015), who drops to 2-5 in major championship matches.
The Serbian is an incomparable 27-2 since the US Open in September and won his 50th career match at the Australian Open. His eighth Grand Slam moves him into a tie for eighth place on the all-time list in the Open Era, alongside names like Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl.
How it happened: Djokovic, winner of four in a row against Murray and seven out of their last eight, started fast with a 4-1 lead before Murray charged back, drawing even set at 5-all after Djokovic had injured his right thumb when diving for a ball. They went to a tiebreak, where Murray had a 4-2 lead that he let slip, first double faulting, then pushing a routine forehand volley long. A Murray return caught the tape, giving the world No. 1 the first set, 7-6(5).
Murray went up a break at 2-0, Djokovic seemingly injured or cramping, a distraction that seemed to play on Murray's concentration. Djokovic, sensing an opening, broke twice for a 4-2 lead of his own. Murray held for 3-4 before a group of protesters disrupted the flow of the match, security having to apprehend at least one of them that jumped onto court during the changeover, delaying the match for several minutes. Once the all clear was given, Murray seemed to find new life in his tennis, pummeling a forehand down the line that Djokovic could barely get his racket on, bringing the set even. They would go to a tiebreak in this set, as well, Murray emerging the stronger this time, hitting cleanly from the backcourt and forcing Djokovic into a pick-up volley miss on set point down.
The third set proved pivotal in this match – as it had in their 2013 final clash – with Murray going up a break at 2-0 when again it appeared Djokovic's legs were giving him trouble, the Serbian limping and stretching at times. Murray, subsequently lost his focus again, saying after the match he was "distracted" by what was going on across the net with Djokovic's physical form. Murray hit a forehand into the net on break point down 2-1 in the fourth, causing him to smack a ball sky-high out of frustration. That was the mental opening Djokovic needed, as he would lose just one more game in the remainder of the match. At 3-4, 15-40 down, Murray double faulted, chucking his racket to the ground out of frustration.
After winning the third, Djokovic sprinted to the finish line, belting the ball at will as he grew in confidence and Murray looked more and more weighed down by his legs, and self-doubt, unable to chase down Djokovic's baseline brilliance. He served out the match with a 6-0 fourth set, forcing Murray into a backhand error on championship point.
Key stat: Known for years as the best returner of his generation, Djokovic squeezed Murray on his service games, breaking nine times and 46 percent of total receiving points. Murray won just 34 percent of points on his second serve while Djokovic had 53 winners to the Briton's 40.
What the winner said on his physical struggles: "You could see that I had a crisis end of the second, beginning of the third. (I) just felt very exhausted and I needed some time to regroup and recharge and get back on track. That's what I've done. I started hitting ball and trying to be a little bit more aggressive (by) coming to the net, shortening the points."
What the title meant to the winner
: "I think it has deeper meaning, more intrinsic value now to my life because I'm a father and a husband. It's the first Grand Slam title I won as a father and a husband. Just feel very, very proud of it."
Andy's frustration: Murray would not go as far as to accuse Djokovic of gamesmanship after the match due to the Serb's on-again, off-again second- and third-set injuries, but he did say he was thrown off by the episodes. "He obviously looked like he was in quite a bad way at the beginning of the third set and came back unbelievable at the end of that set," Murray told reporters. "I'm frustrated at myself for letting that bother me at the beginning of the third set, because I was playing well, I had good momentum, and then just dropped off for like 10 minutes and it got away from me."
Murray reflects on how he feels: "Success is being happy. It's not about winning every single tournament you play, because that isn't possible," he said. "I would rather lose in the final and be happy than win the final and go home and be miserable. Obviously I would have liked to have won today, but you can't win all of them unfortunately."