Novak Djokovic has buried the demons of last year’s heartbreaking quarter-final loss to Stan Wawrinka to create history at the Australian Open and sentence Andy Murray to yet another defeat in a Grand Slam final.
The world number one arrived at Melbourne Park on a mission desperate to avenge last year’s defeat and restore his dominance to the tournament, and was able to do just that despite suffering a few injury scares during the first two sets.
The opening two sets were played with full intensity as the two players justified their showdown in the championship match. Both players displayed impressive form in their lead-ups to the final and so it showed in the opening two sets, which were split among the two same-age rivals in tiebreak sets.
Djokovic broke early to go 3-1 up in the opening set and served for it at 5-3 but Murray would just not give up, showing the qualities that won him the Olympic gold medal and the US Open in 2012, and Wimbledon in 2013.
The Scot had endured a torrid year-and-a-half since undergoing back surgery in September 2013, and until this year’s Australian Open hadn’t appeared in another Grand Slam final since winning Wimbledon nineteen months ago.
But here he was at Melbourne Park, back in the final for the first time since 2013 and desperate to bury his own demons of having lost three previous finals, the last two to Djokovic and the other to Roger Federer.
Though the first set had to be decided in the tiebreak, Djokovic drew first blood and took the opening set in one hour and twelve minutes. However, the job wasn’t done quite yet, as he was about to discover in the second set.
Murray broke for a 2-0 lead to start off, but in a set which saw several momentum shifts, he fell behind 2-4 then won three straight games to take a 5-4 lead. He was later able to reach a set point on Djokovic’s serve, but he was denied and the second set also had to be decided in a tiebreak.
The Scot would dominate the tiebreak and win it by seven points to four. The second set lasted an hour and twenty minutes and by that stage, over two-and-a-half hours of game time had elapsed.
At this stage, it was one set all and the title was still anyone’s to win.
Knowing that this would be his best chance to finally break through for his first title Down Under after three previous unsuccessful attempts, Murray broke to start the third set and consolidated for a 2-0 lead.
However, Djokovic, who was struggling all night with hand and ankle injuries, just would not give up and he would level at 3-all soon after.
Murray had a chance to break for a 4-3 lead in the third set, but he would see that opportunity go begging and from there, the Djoker would dominate, winning the final nine games of the match to bury the demons of last year’s quarter-final loss and win his fifth Australian Open title and eighth Grand Slam title overall.
That said, the fourth set proved to be an anti-climax with Murray failing to win a game. It was the first bagel to be served in a men’s Grand Slam final since Rafael Nadal served one to Roger Federer in the 2008 French Open.
Despite falling to his fourth Australian Open final defeat from as many appearances, Murray stated in the post-match presentation that “he was getting closer” – referring to when he lost the Wimbledon final to Federer in 2012.
Not much was expected from Murray at this year’s Australian Open after the Scot endured a relatively poor 2014 season by his standards, failing to reach a Grand Slam final in a season for the first time since 2009 and dropping out of the top ten.
Many criticised his decision to appoint Amelie Mauresmo as his coach midway through last year, but it almost proved to be vindicated by the Scot reaching the final here when his expectations were low given the hype surrounding Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and dethroned champion Stan Wawrinka.
The only consolation that Murray can take is that he will return to fourth in the world rankings, thereby restoring full order to the state of men’s tennis. It means that, for the first time since last year’s Australian Open, the so-called ‘Big Four’ (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray) will occupy the top four in the men’s rankings.
Wawrinka, as a result of failing to defend his title, drops to ninth.
For Djokovic, this may have to rate as one of his sweetest triumphs in Melbourne yet, given he was physically and mentally pushed to the limit in his five-set triumph over Wawrinka in the semi-finals on Friday night.
Murray, by contrast, had an extra 24 hours’ rest having played his semi-final against Tomas Berdych on the Thursday night. Many pointed to this advantage as being a key area that could have decided the men’s final.
But just as he did in 2012, when he outlasted Rafael Nadal in five sets two days after doing likewise against Murray in the semi-finals, Djokovic again exploited his disadvantage and showed just why he is one of modern tennis’ great ironmen.
The Djoker will remain world number one ahead of the chasing pack (Federer, Nadal and Murray) but will have it tough as he tries to protect that top ranking.
Between now and the French Open, the Serb must defend titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Rome, the latter of which serves as a very important lead-up tournament to the year’s second Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros.
The French Open is the only title missing from his Grand Slam resume and he will be desperate to go one better this year after falling short against Rafael Nadal in last year’s final.
That would have to be his goal for the rest of the year as he looks to join Federer, Nadal, Andre Agassi and Rod Laver in having won each of the four Grand Slam tournaments. At age 28, which he will be when the French Open starts on May 24, it’s achievable.
And so that concludes the 2015 Australian Open, a tournament which saw so many stories emerge from the men’s division including Roger Federer’s unexpected early exit, Nick Kyrgios’ run to the quarter-finals, and of course Novak Djokovic winning here for a fifth time.
The countdown now starts to the second Grand Slam tournament of 2015, the French Open, where Rafael Nadal will aim to win his tenth title and Novak Djokovic his first as he attempts to finally complete his Grand Slam set.
While for the Australian fans, the 2015 sporting festival has only just begun, with the ICC Cricket World Cup starting in two weeks, the Formula One in March, and of course, the NRL and AFL seasons starting on March 5 and April 2, respectively.
Many of us are also now counting down to the 2016 Australian Open, which will be an emotional one as Lleyton Hewitt prepares to say goodbye to professional tennis after almost two decades. For those who dare to keep track, it’s 350 days away from now.
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