Djokovic fears only karma in Grand Slam history quest

Djokovic took a 6-1 lead in the tiebreaker, setting up five championship points, and finished it with an ace in 2 hours, 53 minutes.

Andy Murray endured a nightmare start to his Australian Open final as Novak Djokovic threatened to embarrass the Scot during a dominant opening set.

Djokovic equalled the tally of Australia s Roy Emerson, who won the tournament six times between 1961 and 1967, an achievement that had gone unmatched in the 49 years since.

His regular battles with 17-time slam winner Roger Federer, 14-time winner Rafael Nadal and two-time winner Murray, who between them have won 44 of the last 51 majors, came to typify the big four’s monopoly. Along with his 3-0 record vs. Murray in the Melbourne final, Djokovic is 6-2 overall against Murray in Grand Slam matches, Murray last besting him in a major in the 2013 Wimbledon final. The first one out of here, I’m leaving.

“I’ll be on the next flight home”, Murray said as his voice cracked.

Down 4-3, Murray dedicated his changeover to a monologue of grumbling, but it did the trick, as he broke back instantly with a line-clipping backhand. “It’s an individual sport so a lot can happen and everything depends on you so I hope that I’m able to still respect and live this kind of lifestyle that helped me to reach this point of my career and my life and I have a great support of my family and my team of people and if it stays that way I don’t think anything is unreachable”.

(Reuters) – Novak Djokovic claimed his sixth Australian Open title yesterday as the 28-year-old continues to dominate men’s tennis.

“Um, I feel like I’ve been here before”, Murray said as he accepted the runner-up trophy for the fifth time. But the main priority is completing the career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title. “Yeah, I just want to get home”, said London-based Murray.

Two-time major victor Murray, meanwhile, became only the second man to lose five finals at one major – Ivan Lendl lost five and won three U.S. Open finals in the 1980s.

Frustrated, Djokovic spiked a ball into the court, but just as Murray looked to have gained a foothold he let it go again, chucking away the break when a backhand flew long.

Djokovic tightened the noose with another service break in the first game of the final set, with Murray looking at the herculean task taking the final to five sets.

“But I’m proud of the way I fought and managed to get myself back into the match and create chances for myself”.

He also joined Rod Laver – present in the stadium named after him – and Bjorn Borg on 11 Grand Slam singles trophies.

Having fended off Murray in a marathon second set, Djokovic again had to put down some stiff Murray resistance in the third as the Scottish player refused to go quietly.

“The end of the second set, the game I lost from 40-love up [at 5-5], was a tough one”, he said. “I mean, most of the matches we played in Slams I think have been competitive”.