Djokovic has won the last three Grand Slam titles, and four of the last five, to lift his career haul to 11 – equaling Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg in fifth place on the all-time list. The Serbian also had a slightly easier time of it in his semifinal match than his Scottish opponent, he needed only four sets to dispatch of the 34-year-old Federer, while Milos Raonic took Murray to five sets before being hobbled by a leg injury.
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Djokovic’s relentless desire for tennis perfection has pushed him to a brilliant level, one that was too high for Andy Murray who lost Sunday’s final 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).
“It was the closest I’ve been to leaving a Grand Slam”, said Murray. “I’ve had a love affair with Rod Laver Arena for many years and I hope it can last a long time”.
Long accustomed to the bugbear of being runner-up at the post-match media conference, Murray said he felt the difference this year was in the unforced error count.
For Murray, distracted on his 11th visit to Melbourne Park by the illness of his father-in-law and the impending arrival of his first child, a dispiriting night ended up with a record of the wrong sort.
Williams lost surprisingly to Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open women’s final on Saturday.
“Every Grand Slam title is very significant in its own way”, said Djokovic.
He was just as imperious in the opening set against Murray, racing through it in 28 minutes before the Scot settled into a rhythm and pushed him hard for the last two sets.
He was only able to delay the inevitable though. Kim has had for company the past week her father, Nigel Sears, who collapsed during a match here last weekend and flew back after treatment and examinations at a local hospital.
During a terrible first set, Murray had muttered in earshot of his coach, Amélie Mauresmo, “This is the worst match of my life”.
Murray’s next assignment is expected to be in the Davis Cup in early March, when Britain begin the defence of their title with a first-round match against Japan in Bolton.
“You can observe it from different sides but I believe all the guys are out there fighting each week to get to number one and I know that”. Yeah, I just want to get home. “After that, I’m already thinking about how can I continue playing well through the rest of the season at each tournament”.
But Djokovic gained another psychological breakthrough with a service break in the seventh game after Murray overhit a forehand to trail 4-3. Murray broke back in the sixth game and the set went to tiebreaker.
“I’m honoured to be mentioned alongside legends of our sport”. Emerson played in the 1960s and won his Australian titles in the amateur era.
Djokovic’s latest clutch performance in a major final also left Murray to make some less luminous tennis history by becoming the first man to go 0-5 in singles finals at one major tournament. “I’ve had the fortune to win this trophy now six times, but I never experienced such support”.
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Returning to the metaphor, how hungry is the wolf for Paris, he was asked.
