It all catches up to Murray in fourth Australian Open final loss to Djokovic

MELBOURNE, Australia—To beat Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam final these days takes something of a miraculous effort. And just like Roger Federer last year at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, there was no miracle for Andy Murray Sunday night in Melbourne.

For the fourth time in his career, the Scot fell to Djokovic in an Australian Open final, this time by the straight-set score of 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (3). Murray is now 0-5 in Aussie Open title matches; Djokovic is 6-0.

During the past two weeks, almost everything has been going in Djokovic’s favor. Other than a five-set challenge from Gilles Simon in the fourth round, in which the Serb made 100 unforced errors, it has been smooth sailing for Djokovic in Oz, including his swift dismissal of Roger Federer in the semifinals.

To take it a step further, the past year has been smooth sailing for Djokovic. He finished 2015 with three major titles and an 82-6 record, and hasn’t skipped a beat in 2016, taking the tune-up title in Doha without dropping a set (which included a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Rafael Nadal in the final). Djokovic has been virtually untouchable, and Murray needed to be at his absolute peak to stop him.

But Murray appeared fragile in the final. It didn’t help that his journey to this point had been the opposite of smooth. He’s been riddled with anxiety from the moment he arrived Down Under, with his wife, Kim Sears, nearly nine months pregnant. If she were to go into labor prematurely, Murray said he would immediately fly home to Surrey.

Midway through the tournament, Murray’s father-in-law Nigel Sears collapsed in the stands while watching Ana Ivanovic, who he coaches. If he hadn’t been released from the hospital the very next day, Murray said he would have left the event. That’s two impossible-to-control factors that have nearly sent Murray packing.

“I’ve never been in that position before, so it’s as close as I’ve sort of been to leaving a Grand Slam,” Murray said. “It was a tough, tough couple of days. Thankfully he’s fine now. I just want to get home.”

Embed from Getty Images

Despite all the chaos off court, Murray’s on-court play in Australia has been exemplary. He won his first few rounds with ease, and handled a stiff challenge from David Ferrer in the quarterfinals in four sets.

It was his semifinal win that drained Murray more than any of his previous rounds, possibly combined. Milos Raonic came out firing, and had the match in his hands until an injury slowed him down in the fourth set. A resilient Murray pushed the saga to five sets, and was both fortunate to get away with the win and unlucky to not have more time to recover (it was the second men’s semi).

The effects of all these stresses had to have been a burden for Murray on Sunday. At various times he appeared exhausted, overly sensitive and extra-hyped up—if that’s even possible.

Contrastingly, Djokovic was ice cold and stoic throughout the three-set final—and throughout the whole two weeks. He channeled all his energy into overtaking Murray, dialing in from the very first point.

In the very first game, Murray earned his sole break point chance of the set, but failed to convert. From there, Djokovic began rolling, winning both break points he saw and sealing the the set in just 30 minutes.

“A lot has been going on,” Murray said. “I started the last couple of matches quite slowly, I think, understandable in some respects. Obviously, it’s not good to begin a match like that against somebody like [Djokovic]. But, I’m proud of the way I fought and managed to get myself back into the match and create chances for myself.”

Murray’s game is built on strong defense, but so is Djokovic’s. And as the world No. 1 has shown, his agility and defensive skills are on a level of their own. The more shots Djokovic pulled off, the more Murray’s resolve melted.

Embed from Getty Images

At 1-1 in the second set, Djokovic got a glimpse at four more break points, but Murray held on. Djokovic’s service games were routine, while he was making Murray work extremely hard just to hold. The pressure was stifling.

Still, Murray wasn’t just going to go away quietly. Despite the world No. 2's fight, Djokovic wore him down to get the break at 3-3, something that seemed inevitable given how long Murray’s service games were taking. Murray then spent the changeover complaining and ranting toward the player’s box.

The energy pouring out of Murray’s game and into his vocal rambling seemed to hurt him most when he got broken late in the second set, just a few games after getting back on level terms. It felt like every chance he got, and every deep rally he managed to get into, Murray would miss a routine groundstroke to give it away. On the day, he would compile 65 unforced errors to Djokovic’s 41, and win 24 less points than the Serb.

The third set looked over before it began, with Djokovic getting an early break and rushing out to a 3-1 lead. To his credit, Murray still refused to back down and broke back. He was coming in more, and having greater success from the net, finally realizing he wouldn’t be able to out-rally an impenetrable Djokovic.

Nonetheless, Djokovic dug in with consistent pressure from the baseline, while Murray continued to complain. A tiebreaker raised some hopes, but Murray opened it with a double fault, dimming whatever hope was left. Another double fault followed; these sorts of errors are unforgivable at this stage.

“In the third I felt like towards the end of the set, after I got the break back again, that I was creating a few chances,” Murray said. “Then obviously in the tiebreak, I missed two second serves by a little bit. He had an ace on the T, which was in by a little bit. That was it.”

Djokovic hit that ace down the T at 1-0 in the tiebreaker, and eventually sealed the match with another. Murray couldn’t do anything more than stand idly by as the Serb hoisted the championship trophy for the sixth time.

“I’m proud I got into this position,” the five-time Australian Open finalist said. “Just quite looking forward to getting home now.”

Embed from Getty Images