Novak Djokovic reasserted his rule over the hardcourts of Melbourne Park last night, grinding down Andy Murray 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (7/4), 6-3, 6-0 to win his fifth Australian Open title.
The pair waged a fierce baseline duel for the opening two sets, but Djokovic won 12 of the last 13 games to close out an emphatic win and become the first man in the professional era to secure five titles at Melbourne Park.
Top seed Djokovic sealed the victory on the second match point, rushing to the net with a searing approach shot that Murray could only dump into the net.
Photo: AFP
The loss was Murray’s fourth in a final at Melbourne Park and third to Djokovic after the 2011 and 2013 finals.
In a slow-burning contest, the pair set the tone from the first point with a fierce rally featuring scrambling, net-rushes and a Murray lob before the Scot forced an error from the Serb.
Murray failed to capitalize on three early break points and Djokovic made him pay, leaping to a 4-1 lead.
Photo: Reuters
However, in the first of many momentum shifts, the Scot clawed back to 4-3 when Djokovic netted an ambitious backhand down the line.
The Serb broke Murray again to 5-3, but at a cost, injuring his thumb when he slipped on the court and calling for a doctor to get some treatment at the change of ends at 5-4.
The Serb fumed at chair umpire Jake Garner over fans yelling out during points and grew more agitated as Murray held on to take the set into a tiebreak and compile a 4-2 lead after a string of attritional rallies.
With the set begging to be put away, Murray flinched, however, serving a double fault and then rushing to the net, sending a volley an inch past the baseline to give Djokovic a set point.
Hammering a second serve return into the net, the Scot conceded it and a pumped-up Djokovic threw a steely-eyed glance at his player’s box.
Frustrated, Murray channeled his anger into his tennis, jumping out to a 2-0 lead, but soon after was chastising himself again.
He conceded 12 straight points to be broken again and fell back to 4-2.
The match was interrupted a game later when two people jumped on the court in a security lapse to protest against the Australian government’s offshore detention of asylum seekers.
The players were forced to wait a few minutes as security restored order and the break gave Murray time to settle.
It was disastrous for Djokovic, however, who lost the momentum and miscued a number of shots to lose serve.
Murray raised his game, taking the match into another tiebreak and raising four set points with a series of baseline rockets.
Djokovic saved two, but could do nothing on the third when Murray fired a dipping shot at his shoelaces.
Murray then rolled into a 2-0 lead in the third set, but handed the break back and bashed the ball high into the night sky in disgust.
The Scot then crumbled in the eighth game, giving Djokovic three break points and then double-faulting to fall behind 5-3.
Djokovic coolly served out the set then went on a tear, not conceding a single game in the fourth set to cruise to his eighth grand slam title.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS