Hopefully it’ll stay that way prior to Sunday’s final when he faces Novak Djokovic, who has inflicted three of Murray’s four final defeats at Melbourne Park.
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Djokovic, with 10 Grand Slam titles to his name, won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open previous year but was beaten in the French Open final by Stan Wawrinka.
From Djokovic’s near-flawless display in the first two sets, followed by Federer’s stirring fightback in the third set, to the thrilling fourth set that produced some of the most memorable points played at Rod Laver Arena, the night will live long in the memory of all who watched it.
“If you want to win Grand Slam titles and be the best in the world, you have to win against the best players in the world. It’s an open course”, Laver told reporters at the tournament in Melbourne.
The world number one annihilated Roger Federer 6-1 in the first set of his semi-final three days ago and he gave Murray the same treatment, again winning 6-1 with two breaks along the way.
The 43-year-old Nestor and 37-year-old Stepanek teamed up just two weeks before the start of the Australian Open.
And earlier in the day Scot Gordon Reid, who is ranked as the British number one professional wheelchair tennis player, won the wheelchair singles to secure his first Grand Slam singles title.
Murray had previously reached the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open with former partner John Peers.
In the mixed doubles final on Sunday, the new pairing of Coco Vandeweghe and Horia Tecau will take on the fifth-seeded team, Elena Vesnina and Bruno Soares.
Angelique Kerber checked her phone and confirms she received a text message from Steffi Graf ahead of the Australian Open final against Serena Williams on Saturday.
Murray’s impetus, however, soon drained away as he thrashed a forehand into the net and then double-faulted to hand Djokovic the break. They started off strong but couldn’t match their impressive play from the opening set. “I have to just believe in myself”, said Murray, 28.
“I didn’t even really think about that but it’s pretty special to have him here”.
The 17-year-old Anderson was the fifth Australian in the last decade to win the junior title, joining the likes of Nick Kyrgios (2013) and Bernard Tomic (2008) as champion.
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The roof was closed over Rod Laver Arena early Friday afternoon with rain showers in the area, but those were expected to clear in time to have an open stadium for the night match. Obviously you play the five sets it isn’t ideal, but Novak also won here the time we played five hours and then played a six-hour final.
