Three Thoughts: Djokovic wins fifth Australian Open, Murray loses fourth

1. What is it about this tournament that brings out the best in Novak Djokovic, and—at least in finals—the worst in Andy Murray? It’s a tough question to answer, for both of these baseliners love the medium-paced azure hard court that sits inside Rod Laver Arena. The surface plays to their strengths, as we saw for the first two hours and 32 minutes of their third career title fight in Melbourne. Only two sets were completed in that interval, both featuring four breaks of serve and each being decided in a tiebreaker. It was only fitting that the two split those sudden-death sessions, and if visions of Djokovic’s 2012 Australian Open final with Rafael Nadal (which lasted nearly six hours) were dancing in your head, I can understand why.

But—and this so strange to say, for two players born just a week apart—is the answer maturity? Midway through the third set, at 3-3, the outcome of this match was a pick’em, sort of like another big championship game that will take place today. Murray then earned a break point, which he failed to convert—although he nearly broke a ball boy in half by trying to retrieve a Djokovic drop shot. Djokovic went on to hold serve; Murray wouldn’t win another game, eventually going down 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0 in 3:39.

The nine-game surge which ended the match was less a display of excellence by Djokovic as it was a display of petulance by Murray. He berated himself after seemingly every miss; his changeovers were Shakespearean soliloquies:

He also got caught up in what his opponent was doing. From a hurt finger to bad footing to limping and cramping, Djokovic ran the gamut of maladies on Sunday. To his credit, he overcame them all, regardless of whether they were more mental than physical. But for Murray, it was all mental. “It was clear that he was cramping, and I let that distract me a little bit,” the world No. 6 told the press afterward. “That's what I'm most disappointed about.”

You would think that after winning two Grand Slam titles and playing for nearly a decade on tour, Murray would be seasoned enough to focus on the big picture. But once Djokovic got lodged in Murray’s head, he couldn’t pry him out. And a match that seemed destined to be a classic went out with a whimper.

2. Djokovic may have never gotten in position to rattle Murray without two key stretches of play. The first occurred in the first set, after Djokovic, seemingly able to put this nasty fall behind him, served at 5-3:

It was apparent from the onset that Djokovic's form was much better what he displayed in his forgettable five-set semifinal against Stan Wawrinka. But he couldn’t hit through Murray with the set on his racquet, both while serving and when hitting groundstrokes. Worse, when he moved Murray around, the Scot made things even more difficult for Djokovic with running forehands fired at acute angles and superb counter-punching.

Djokovic was broken, but steadied himself in time to let Murray make one crucial error: At 5-5 in the tiebreaker, Murray hit a makable volley long after Djokovic got himself back in the point with a well-struck lob. Djokovic won the set on the next point, via a Murray unforced error.

Djokovic also turned things around in the nick of time at the start of the third set. Murray, having just won a close tiebreaker, broke serve, with Djokovic looking beneath peak condition (this is what Murray was referring to in the above quote). Murray held comfortably after that for 2-0, but let his foot of the petrol just enough to revive Djokovic and his chances.

Even after Djokovic broke for 2-2, he was pushed to 30-30 on serve, and he pulled the same escape act at 3-3. Murray was never able to grab a lead beyond that initial 2-0 advantage. Like Maria Sharapova in the women's final, Murray failed to make the top seed really consider the possibility of defeat.

3. More thoughts:

—Djokovic won the final set of his semifinal and final 6-0.

—When Murray was at his counterpunching, baseline-stalking best in this match, it reminded me of the 2012 U.S. Open final, in which he outlasted Djokovic over five sets. Although he didn’t win the title in Oz, it was good to see that that version of Murray, rather than last year’s scaled-down model.  

—My favorite shot of Murray’s, and one that seemed to work throughout the match, was his down-the-line forehand. It always appeared to catch Djokovic off-guard, it changed the complexion of points, and it opened up the court. I think Murray actually hit his forehand harder than Djokovic did today.  

—Murray looked <em>totally</em> resigned to defeat at 3-0 in the fourth set.  

—With Murray’s form and defense, Djokovic needed to go for more today, and he did, striking 53 winners. But he actually made less unforced errors than Murray, 40 to 49.  

—The biggest stat of the day? Murray’s second-serve conversion percentage, a woeful 34 percent (14 for 41).  

—A number of idiots—don’t call them fans, please—came onto the court during a changeover for the purpose of protesting. I was at the 2013 French Open final when something similar happened, and Rafael Nadal was nearly in harm’s way. I can only echo what <em>Sports Illustrated</em>’s Courtney Nguyen said about this latest incident:

—Murray’s deft touch was put to the test here:

—There are only two players that can win the calendar-year Slam: Serena Williams and Djokovic. I’m just stating the facts.

—Patriots by 6.