Supreme Djokovic sinks Murray’s dream

Mobeen Irfan
Contributor
What most expected to be a tight five-set tennis battle between two future rivals turned out to be a one-sided affair. Novak Djokovic displayed a supreme three-set performance as he brushed aside Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open 2011, sinking any dreams Murray had of winning.
The match began with both players trying to fight the early match nerves, but Djokovic was the first to make a move in the first set as Murray was serving to stay in the set at 4-5. Murray served a double fault, which was all Djokovic needed as he pounced to take the first set 6-4. Djokovic followed through with his aggressive playing as he made some important ground strokes and passing shots that were too much for Murray to handle, winning the match easily to seal his second grand slam title.
What set the match apart, however, was Djokovic’s newly improved serve. At his best, he was able to win a lot of his serve points, whereas Murray struggled to serve consistently. Everyone expected an improved performance from Murray and a lot expected him to win the title, but at the end Djokovic overwhelmed Murray with his quick reflexes and great defensive skills.
This loss will hurt Andy Murray for a while, as this was his ideal chance to get his Grand Slam count on the board with his two greatest Grand Slam rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, out of the tournament. It took Murray til Wimbledon 2010 to recover from his loss to Federer at the same event last year. This will be a bigger heartbreak for the Scot, as he has to forget about this as soon as he can and work on his weaknesses. The result show that Andy Murray still has a long way to go if he is to compete for a grand slam title in 2011.
As for Djokovic, this is a perfect start to 2011, as he played the best two weeks of tennis in his career when it mattered the most. The question now is whether he will be able to challenge Rafa at the next grand slam, held on the Spaniard’s favorite surface. Djokovic answered all his critics by beating Federer and Murray in succession at the Aussie open. Will he be able to carry on his good work to the clay season? Only time will tell. All in all, it has been a great fortnight for ‘The Djoker’ and it wasn’t the pressure of a grand slam final that allowed him to outplay his opponent, but the brilliance of his skills.