MELBOURNE, Australia – Scotland’s Andy Murray expected pain before the Australian Open final and, in Novak Djokovic, he got more than he bargained for.
No. 1 Djokovic relied on his tenacious defense and capitalised on No. 3 Murray’s hampered movement from a blistered right foot to capture a third-consecutive title in Melbourne and fourth since 2008.
Djokovic, who lost to Scotland’s Murray in last year’s US Open final, won 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-2.
Djokovic is the first man to win three consecutive titles in Melbourne in the post-1968 Open era.
The 25-year-old Serb joins Roger Federer and Andre Agassi — on hand to present the winner’s trophy — as the only men with four titles in the Open era. He has six major titles overall.
The tight, back-and-forth match turned in the seventh game of the third set, when Djokovic earned the first break of the match. After closing out the third set, he broke again in the third game of the fourth set and cruised home from there.
Murray was coming off a four-hour, five-set battle against Roger Federer in the semifinals. Djokovic breezed past David Ferrer in 1:29 in his semifinal.
Murray had ended a 76-year major drought for British men when he won the US Open in September. – usatoday
