Tags:Novak Djokovic wins third successive Australian Open,Novak Djokovic wins Australian Open 2013,
Djokovic wins third successive Australian Open,Djokovic wins Australia open 2013,
Australian Open 2013,Novak Djokovic,winner of Australian open 2013,Australian open.
Novak Djokovic became the first man to win three successive
Australian Open titles in the professional era when he beat third seed
Andy Murray
6-7 7-6 6-3 6-2 in a battle of attrition on Sunday.
The Serb, who has now won four of his six grand slam titles in
Melbourne, managed to win the important points as the Briton suffered
from blisters on his right foot and problems at the top of his left
hamstring.
Both players produced superb service games throughout
the match with Djokovic the first to achieve a break in the eighth game
of the third set, propelling him to the brink of the title after the
pair had shared tiebreaks in the first two sets.
Djokovic then
capitalised on a flagging Murray, who had battled to a five-set win over
Roger Federer on Friday, breaking early in the fourth set and then
holding on to clinch the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for the fourth
time.
Djokovic was not the only man chasing a record. US Open
champion Murray was also hoping to become the first Briton to win the
title since Fred Perry in 1934 and the first man to win his second grand
slam immediately after winning his first.
Djokovic had the first
opportunity to take an advantage when he held four break points in the
sixth game, but Murray fought them all off and levelled at 3-3 with a
kicking ace down the centre line.
The world number one held
another break point in the eighth game, but Murray again saved and
forced a tiebreak, which he sealed 7-2 after he had jumped out to a 4-0
lead and never looked like giving it up.
Murray's first serve,
which had caused him problems in the first set, was much better in the
second and the Scot reduced the number of unforced errors though neither
man looked likely to lose their serve.
The top seeded Djokovic
seized the advantage in the tiebreak when Murray double faulted after he
had been forced to stop his serve as a feather from birds in the roof
fluttered down on court. That point gave the Serb a 3-2 lead, which he
capitalised on to win 7-3 when Murray hit a backhand into the net.
The
Briton then took a medical timeout before the third set began to have
sticking plaster and strapping tape applied to blisters around the big
toe on his right foot and the momentum had shifted to the Serbian world
number one.
Djokovic, however, waited until the time was right to
pounce on Murray's weakness, which he did in the eighth game when he
claimed the first break of the match after almost three hours of play to
take a 5-3 lead.
The Serb then blasted through his service game
to love to take the third set in a relatively lightning 41 minutes after
the first two sets had taken 68 and 65 minutes respectively. Murray's
foot continued to give him trouble in the fourth set as he was unable to
stop abruptly, change direction, or push off properly to generate
power.
Djokovic broke in the third game and sensing the finishing
line was in sight, achieved a double break in the fifth and sealed the
win when a Murray backhand return thudded into the net.
