TENNIS AO2015 – Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic will play they third final at the Australian Open. Nole won the previous two final match-ups Down Under in 2011 (6-4 6-2 6-3) and 2013 (6-7 7-6 6-3 6-2) and the semifinal in 2012 in a five.-set match (6-3 3-6 6-7 6-1 7-5). Djokovic leads 15-8 in the previous head-to-head matches against Murray and leads 13-6 in hard-court matches. Their last Grand Slam match was the US Open quarter final last year when Djokovic won in four sets with 7-6 6-7 6-2 6-4. Djokovic also won the last two matches in the Beijing semifinal (6-3 6-4) and in Paris Bercy quarter final (7-5 6-2). Diego Sampaolo
AO2015: Interviews, Results, Order of Play, Draws
Nole won six of their past seven head-to-head matches since the epic US Open final in 2012 won by Murray in five sets with 7-6 (12-10) 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2. Murray clinched only one of these seven matches at the 2012 Wimbledon final when the Dunblane native made history becoming the first Briton to win at Church Road since Fred Perry in 1936.
“He has a fantastic record in Melbourne. He loves the court and the conditions. It would be a big upset if I manage to win. I have never won against him in Melbourne. I have lost against him the last four or five times we played against each other. I am not saying it’s not a possibility but it’s going to be very tough. ”, said Murray.
Murray admitted that he did not watch the second semifinal between Djokovic and Wawrinka
“I tried not to spend too much thinking about it (the match between Wawrinka and Djokovic) and I tried to do the same sort of routine as I have been doing in the other matches and use Friday as a recovery day. Then I practiced slightly harder than I would normally have the day before a Grand Slam final”, said Murray
Murray and Djokovic will play the closest Grand Slam final by age. Both players were born in 1987 but Murray is just seven days older than his Serbian fellow colleague. The previous closest Grand Slam finalists by age were Guillermo Vilas and Jimmy Connors who played the 1977 US Open when Vilas was 18 days older than Connors.
Djokovic is bidding to win his 8th Grand Slam title and become the 8th player in history together with André Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Fred Perry and Ken Rosewall on the all-time list for most major titles. “Djoker” has a 7-7 win-loss record in the previous Grand Slam finals. He won four titles at the Australian Open in 2008 against Jo Wilfred Tsonga in four sets (4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6), in 2011 against Murray (6-4 6-2 6-3). In 2012 against Rafa Nadal in a epic five-set match (5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7 7-5) and in 2013 against Murray (6-7 7-6 6-3 6-2).
Djokovic is looking to become the 17th Number 1 seed player to triumph at the Australian Open in the Open Era. He is bidding to extend to extend his 9-match winning-streak against top-10 players. He suffered his last defeat against a top-10 player last October when he lost to Roger Federer in the 2014 Shanghai Master 1000 Tournament. He lost just two sets in his last eight matches against top-10 rivals against Kei Nishikori at the 2014 ATP Finals in London and in the semifinals at the 2015 Australian Open against Stan Wawrinka on Friday where he prevailed with 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 6-4 6-0.
Murray, who is playing in his 10th consecutive Australian Open and in his 36th Grand Slam tournament overall, is bidding to become the first player in the Open Era to clinch the Australian Open title after losing three finals in 2010 to Roger Federer, in 2011 and 2013 to Djokovic. Marat Safin lost two finals in Melbourne in 2002 to Thomas Johanson and 2004 to Roger Federer before beating Lleyton Hewitt in his third attempt in 2005. Murray has a 2-5 win-loss record in his previous seven Grand Slam finals. Murray is looking to become the first number 6 seed to clinch a Grand Slam title since Juan Martin Del Potro’s win over Roger Federer at the 2009 US open.
Murray became the first Briton to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936 and the first player from his country in the home Slam at Wimbledon since Perry in 1936. He could write another piece of British tennis history if he wins tomorrow. He could become the British player to clinch the Australian Open since Perry beat Jack Crawford in 1934. Murray is looking to become the 21st man to win three or more Grand Slam titles. He has not defeated a World Number 1 since beating Djokovic in the 2013 Wimbledon final. The only other number 1 player Murray managed to beat in the four Grand Slams was Rafa Nadal in the semifinals of the 2008 US Open. Murray lost the final of that edition of Flushing Meadows against Roger Federer. Then he became the first British player to qualify for a Grand Slam final since Greg Rusedski in 1997. By reaching his 8th Grand Slam final with his semifinal win over Tomas Berdych Murray has become the second most successful player in Grand Slam behind Fred Perry who qualified for 10 Slam finals (including two at the Australian Open).
Federer (25 finals), Nadal (20) and Djokovic (15) are the only three active players to have reached more Grand Slam finals than Murray who Is currently joint 13th with Ken Rosewall and Guillermo Vilas for the most Grand Slam finals in the Open Era.
The last time Murray suffered a five-set defeat was in the semifinals of the 2012 Australian Open against Djokovic.
After winning at the US Open and Wimbledon the Dunblane native could add a third Slam to his trophy cabinet and come closer to achieving a Career Grand Slam.
“Winning any of the Slams is a very tough and challenging ting to do. Winning three or four Grand Slams seems like nothing because of everything that the other guys have done, but it’s a very difficult to do. Whether I win or not on Sunday, I still feel like my record here has been a good one. We know each other pretty well. We both know what to expect from each other’s game. The fact that I have won seven of the last eight matches is going to serve a great confidence booster coming into the match”, said Murray.
