A beaming Novak Djokovic showed off his Australian Open trophy in Melbourne on 1 February, saying the desire to become the greatest tennis player always be his “motivation” in the years to come.
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After the Serb won the tiebreaker of the final set, Djokovic and Murray received a huge standing ovation from the Melbourne crowd, which is only fitting for both players’ historical rivalry at the Australian Open.
With this, Djokovic retained his title and also equalled the record of Roy Emerson’s record of six Australian Open Singles titles. “I went to bed at 5, set my alarm for 11, woke up at 8:30… been living on coffee ever since”, Soares said. His wife, Kim, is expecting their first baby next month.
He was rocked midway through the tournament by a medical emergency involving her father Nigel Sears, who collapsed in the terraces at Rod Laver Arena when coaching Ana Ivanovic and was rushed to hospital.
For now, Murray is planning on playing.
Murray, who is 28 years old, has had his share of distractions in Australia.
Djokovic, the favorite, kept his flawless record in six appearances in the final of the Australian Open by disposing of Columbia 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (3) on Sunday, allowing it to tie the game for Roy Emerson for the number of Australian titles in his career.
Murray was hoping to win a third grand slam title and halt a run of four losing finals at Melbourne Park but Djokovic made it five with a ruthless performance.
“I can’t lie and say I didn’t think about it. It was in the back of my mind”.
“I don’t know how far off I was”, Murray said.
Despite the dramas, world No. 2 Murray still managed to battle into his ninth Grand Slam final and make a match of the decider after being destroyed in the opening set.
This season, the first ever men’s “Golden Slam”, which is the four major titles plus Olympic gold, is on the table, a fact which will not have gone unnoticed by Djokovic. “Had I lost in the third or fourth round it still would have been hard with everything that happened, but she’s been unbelievable and handled everything unbelievably well”.
Murray earlier cursed himself for “the worst match I’ve ever played” while being swept aside in two hours and 53 minutes. After one of the shortest press conferences of his garlanded career, Murray went straight to the airport for the first available flight home and is due to arrive at Heathrow on Monday evening.
Djokovic broke his opponent and quickly took a 2-0 lead and, after depositing an unstoppable cushioning, a supporter shouted: “Give him a chance, Novak!”
The Serb also equals Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg’s Grand Slam singles titles at 11, but is still well behind Federer, who has won 17 major titles.
Murray said: “The first set I wasn’t there but the second and third sets I do think were close”.
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“Of course I want to enjoy (winning the Open), and I will, but it’s not going to go more than few days”, the world No. 1 said.
