Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray 2016 Australian Open Final Pick, Odds, Prediction

Moreover, it is world No 1 Djokovic who has stopped Murray from winning the Australian Open three times before, in 2010, 2011, 2013 and past year, when he led by a break in the third set, having split the first two, only to fade badly in the closing stages.

epa05132761 Andy Murray of Britain in action against Milos Raonic of Canada during the semi final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 29 January 2016.

“He has one of the best serves in tennis so it’s frustrating when you don’t have a lot of say in the points”, Murray said in his on-court interview.

If Murray loses on Sunday, he’ll have lost five Australian Open finals – more than any male player has lost at the same grand slam in the open era.

“But, yeah, for it to be the first time to happen is incredible really”. It’s about what happens on Sunday.

The four-time runner-up reached his fifth final at Melbourne Park after overcoming the gallant Canadian 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-2 in four hours, three minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

Murray broke Raonic’s big serve four times, twice in the fifth set, and hit 38 winners, while Raonic served up 23 aces among his 72 winners, but made 78 unforced errors.

Raonic, meanwhile, was left heartbroken after suffering a thigh injury that hampered him from the middle of the third set of the 4-6 7-5 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 defeat.

The Serb, who fell just one win short of a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015, demolished 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in a sublime semi-final featuring two spellbinding opening sets. Murray, however, is one of the game’s most resilient competitors and when his chance came with Raonic’s injury he took it. Reaching the final is quite an achievement for the Scot given the on-court challenges he has faced here with the dramatic collapse of his father-in-law Nigel Sears and the knowledge that his wife back home is expecting their first child next month.

“I have a very good shot on Sunday if I play my best tennis”, he said. “I try not to watch, I find it pretty stressful so I won’t watch the match”.

Murray’s four previous trips to the final have all ended in heartbreak, but he will have taken strength from his fighting comeback and ability to defuse Raonic’s overwhelming power game.

But Murray is already proud of his achievements at the Australian Open, even if he is yet to be crowned the champion.

Djokovic is gunning for his sixth Australian Open title and 11th overall while Murray is bidding to add to his triumphs at the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013.

“I guess that was the whole frustration of everything getting out”.

“Maybe that’s why I lashed out as I did at the start of the fifth set”. Djokovic defeated Federrer 3:1, but after the match he said that he was playing at unbelievable level which was necessary against Roger who “Was playing at very high level during Tournament”. I need to do it for a very long period if I want to get the win. “I think that will show up through this year, but Novak certainly has a chance to pull off a Grand Slam”. “When I’m playing a match, I’m not thinking about what he was going through”, Murray said of Raonic’s plight.

“I’m going to have to face one of the biggest rivals, but that’s what it takes”.