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World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won an exceptional mental battle versus a physical one during the Sunday final, becoming the first player in the Open Era to win five trophies, just one short of home legend Roy Emerson who won in 1961 and between 1963 and 1967.
Djokovic’s ability to dismantle Andy Murray was impeccable and a feast for the eyes after giving an average performance during his semifinal encounter against Stan Wawrinka. He defeated Murray 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0, grabbing his 8th Grand Slam crown.
The first two sets saw the two contestants playing consistent, and a competitive spirit was seen from both sides, hungry to grab the first prestigious crown of the season. As the second set reached a mini tiebreak, Murray seemed to be the player rising on top of his usual game play. The momentum was carried forward as he broke the Serb, who seemed to show some physical deficiency at this point, in the opening game of the third set.
But as soon as the Scot reached 2-0, any signs that this match might be in his hands were destroyed as soon as Djokovic leveled the set 2-all. The Serb brought back the game to life, switched gears and put on an unsullied mind game that even Murray was unable to penetrate into. In a flash we saw his physical strength reach a new level of outstanding and Murray’s deteriorate.
The match mostly consisted of baseline play, and even during Djokovic’s brief downturn, he was willing to stay closer to it. An immediate effect on this kind of play from both the contestants were longer rallies that was certainly going to affect one of the players. In this case, Murray fell prey to it and thus became tired soon after leveling the third set 3-all.
The Serb rose through 9 straight games with more than frequent deadly swings coming off his racquet. At two championship points, Djokovic landed a lob just a few millimeters out of the baseline. In the next rally, he made a swift move towards the net, at which Murray went off balance and returned a sloppy forehand into the net. Djokovic gave a knockout blow in the last set with a ‘bagel’, claiming victory in three hours and 39 minutes.
"It's been my most consistent Grand Slam throughout my career, I just haven't been able to win it," said Murray in his runner-up speech. "We put in a lot of hard work to try and get back in this position after what was a difficult year last year. Unfortunately, we couldn't quite do it tonight, but I'm a little bit closer than I was a few months ago and we'll keep working hard to try and get there. I'll try and come back next year and have a slightly different outcome in the final."
While Murray failed to put on a smile at the ceremony, Djokovic was overwhelmed to be presented with the winner’s trophy by none other than Roy Emerson. "I'm so privileged and honoured and grateful to be standing here for the fifth time, to be in an elite group of players, with legends of our sport out here watching," said the Serb.
Djokovic’s maiden Australian Open title came back in 2008, where he defeated Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, followed by successive victories from 2011-13.
Murray dropped to a 2-6 record at Grand Slam finals, his only victories coming from the 2012 US Open and Wimbledon in 2013.
