Djokovic ties record with 6th Australian Open title

Novak Djokovic kisses his trophy after defeating Andy Murray to win the Australian Open.

Andy Murray got a boost Saturday ahead of final against Djokovic after his brother Jamie teamed up with Brazil’s Bruno Soares to win the doubles title.

The two-hour long duel seemed to have drained the players, but the two top-ranked players continue their slugfest in the third set.

Novak Djokovic vanquished Andy Murray for the fourth time in an Australian Open final yesterday to win a record-equalling sixth title and serve notice to his rivals that he could surpass even his stellar 2015 this year. I was able to get myself into the net more.

Djokovic and Roy Emerson are the only players in history to have won the Australian Open six times, with the Serbian in with a genuine chance of eclipsing Roger Federer’s record of 17 grand slam triumphs if he stays injury-free for the remainder of his career.

“I believe that I can win every match I play (and) I’m playing the tennis of my life in the last 15 months”.

“Each year that I’ve been going back I feel like I’m a step closer. I’m just trying to keep it up”. This was maiden Grand Slam Tennis title for 7th seed Kerber. Djokovic has reached three finals at Roland Garros, but never won the French Open.

Murray hinted that the off-court dramas had affected his play. “You’ve been a legend the last few weeks”, he said.

As a father himself, he didn’t want to delay Murray’s departure.

Should he match Laver’s feat of winning four slams in a row, the 28-year-old will have to find some new superlatives to describe his form. His wife, Kim, to give birth to their first child in February and remained in Britain.

It has been a tough fortnight for Murray, who nearly pulled out of the tournament when his father-in-law Nigel Sears, Ana Ivanovic’s coach, collapsed at Rod Laver Arena last week. “Thank you so much for all of your support and I’ll be on the next plane home”, he said in a faltering voice. “And I’ll be on the next flight home”.

For all that, Murray could not help but see the lighter side as he accepted the runners-up trophy for a fifth time.

At his post-match press conference, which was conducted in a hurry as a vehicle waited to take him to the airport, Murray added: “Regardless of today’s result, it’s been hard”.

“I’m proud that I got into this position”, said the world number two, who suffered his fifth final defeat.

Again, he was just too good.

The Serb blew Murray away in another flawless first set and while the British number one mounted more resistance as the match went on, he could not prevent Djokovic winning 6-1 7-5 7-6 (7/3).

Djokovic then took the 6-1 lead, setting the table for five championship bullets. However, with Murray still struggling to find rhythm, Djokovic secured a 6-5 advantage, erasing a 40-0 lead for his frustrated opponent. Kerber went for a dip in the Yarra River on Sunday morning after a night of celebrations after prolonging Williams’ bid to equal Steffi Graf’s record 22 majors in the Open era.