AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Men’s Final: [CR1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [CR6] Andy Murray (GBR)

The first set was a battle for control, not only of the set but of the match.  Whoever won the first set was going to win the match because the toll of losing that first set would inevitably have a negative impact as the match progressed.  Murray lost the match the minute he lost the lead in the tiebreak on a double-fault.  Not feeling confident in his game, he played tentatively allowing Djokovic to stay in the points and then a shaky mid-court ball was pushed long, sealing his fate.

You can never count Djokovic out of a match, if you beat him you did so with skill or you physically wore him down.  Murray does not have the ability to wear him down, so he needed to use his skills to win the match.  Unfortunately, Murray ran out of energy, mentally and physically.  The last two sets showed the detrimental effects of that lost first set.  He had nothing left to give and Djokovic was not in a generous mood. Murray needs to work on staying longer in matches, especially when it’s the final of a major. Djokovic won his 8th major title with a 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0 defeat of Murray.