Djokovic beats Murray to complete Australian Open hat-trick

Melbourne, Jan 27 (IANS) World No.1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated US Open champion Andy Murray in four sets to win his fourth and third consecutive Australian Open title here Sunday.

Djokovic also became the first man in the Open era to win three straight Australian titles, reports Xinhua.

The 25-year-old Serb took three hours and 40 minutes to win 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-2, to shatter Murray’s hopes of a back-to-back second Grand Slam win.

After losing the opening set he probably should have won, with five break points to none for Murray, Djokovic turned the tables in the second set by grabbing the tiebreak.

Murray then required a medical treatment for blisters at the changeover and failed to capitalise on 0-40 at the start of the third set. He then began to grimace between points, clearly struggling to move freely.

It was Djokovic who took the first break of serve after two hours and 52 minutes.

A thumping forehand into the corner set him on the way at 4-3, and despite saving two break points from 0-40, Murray could not resist any longer and netted a forehand.

Djokovic went on a run of eight out of nine games as he moved two sets to one up and the Scot’s serve unravelled, the double-fault count rising to five after just two in his other six matches in Melbourne.

Unhappy with the chair umpire for not clamping down on shouts from the crowd, and with his movement hindered, Murray cut a dispirited figure as Djokovic powered towards another major win.

With six Grand Slam victories, Djokovic matches the likes of Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Don Budge and Jack Crawford in the all-time list, while his rival lost in his all three appearances in the final of the Australian Open.

IANS 2013-01-27 19:32:01