Murray happy to be on his way home

Top-ranked Djokovic maintained his ideal streak in six Australian Open finals with a 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory on Sunday night, equaling Roy Emerson’s record for Australian titles.

With this win, Djokovic, the world No. 1 drew level with Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg on 11 Grand Slam singles crown and now only Roy Emerson (12), Nadal (14), Sampras (14) and Federer (17) are ahead of him.

Another overpowering Australian Open win kept him head and shoulders above his peers, but Novak Djokovic said fears of a “big slap from karma” make him humble as he continues his quest for Grand Slam history.

Can Novak Djokovic claim the last of the four grand slams – the French Open – this year?

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).

Also runner-up to Roger Federer in 2010, Murray battled hard in the second and third sets against Djokovic, but the loss will do little to convince fans that the 28-year-old can one day break his hoodoo against the Serb.

“Then obviously in the third I felt like towards the end of the set, after I got the break back again, that I was creating a few chances”.

Djokovic improved his record over the world No. 2 to 4-2 in major finals. “I’ve had the fortune to win this trophy now six times, but I never experienced such support”.

“I didn’t hit my forehand particularly well at the beginning of the match”.

“I’d like to thank my team for getting me to this position”.

“That is why of course this trophy is even more unique for me tonight”.

Against Djokovic, he seemed out of sorts in the first set, which he lost in 30 minutes to fall into an immediate hole, and was visibly irritated throughout the match by line calls, camera flashes in the crowd and his own inconsistent play.

He is already – based on his results over the past two seasons – the best player on all the major surfaces: clay, grass and hard courts.

Andy Murray appeared relaxed and happy after rushing home from Melbourne to be with his wife Kim as they await the arrival of their first child.

On his plans to catch a flight, Murray said: “I think the earliest one was at like 1am but I’ve been held on flights for it feels like five days”.

Murray also had to deal with another family matter in Melbourne.

Both tournaments use a cushioned acrylic surface from the same manufacturer, although the US Open surface has generally been quicker through the years.

Murray contributed to his downfall, a double-fault handed his first service game to his opponent, but the depth and accuracy of Djokovic’s groundstrokes had him chasing shadows.

But Djokovic fought back from 0-40 down to break Murray’s serve for a fourth time featuring one exhaustive 36-shot rally to lead 6-5 and serve for the second set.