COMMENT – Andy Murray takes on Novak Djokovic in the final of the men’s singles at Australian Open on tomorrow. Seeking to become Great Britain’s first Grand Slam champion in 75 years, world number five Murray clawed into the Australian Open final for the second consecutive year after an intense four-set semi-final with Spain’s David Ferrer.
After being one point away from a two-set deficit, Andy Murray rallied to claim an inspired 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-6(2) victory. The Scot, who finished runner-up to Roger Federer in last year’s final, will hope to go one step further and win his first Grand Slam title when he faces 2008 champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s match.
Serbian Novak Djokovic, the number three seed, defeated Switzerland second-seed Roger Federer 7-6 (7-3), 7-5,6-4 in the semi final to enter the final of a Grand Slam for the fourth time.
It will be the eighth match between the two players. Djokovic has won four and Andy Murray three in seven previous meetings. The two players have never met in a Grand Slam match before.
Road to final:
Andy Murray (Great Britain-5):
n Beat Karol Beck
(Slovakia) 6-3,6-1,4-2 (Retired)
n Beat Illya Marchenko
(Ukraine) 6-1, 6-3.6-3
n Beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
(Spain-32) 6-1,6-1, 6-2
n Beat Jurgen Melzer (Austria) 6-3,6-1,6-1
n Beat Alexandr Dolgopolov
(Ukraine) 7-5,6-3 ,7-6(7-3),6-3
n Beat David Ferrer
(Spain-7) 4-6, 7-6(7-2), 6-1, 7-6(7-2)
Novak Djokovic(Serbia-3):
n Beat Marcel Granollers (Spain) 6-1,6-3,6-1
n Beat Ivan Dodig
(Croatia) 7-5,6-7(8-10),6-0,6-2
n Beat Viktor Troicki
(Serbia-29) 6-2 (Retired)
n Beat Nicolas Almagro
(Spain-14) 6-3, 6-4,6-0
n Beat Tomas Berdych
(Czech Republic-6) 6-1 7-6 (7-5),6-1
n Beat Roger Federer (SWitzerland-2)
7-6 (7-3), 7-5,6-4 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
Head to head:
Andy Murray vs Novak Djokovic
5 Ranking 3
5 Seeding 3
23 Age 23
190 cm Height 188 cm
84 kgs Weight 80 kgs
16 Titles 18
$13,967,298 Prize Money $20,262,956
7 Matches 7
3 Won 4
– Clay 1
– Grass –
3 Hard 3
– Grand Slams –
Previous meetings:
Year Round C’ship Winner Score
2006 16 ATP Masters Djokovic 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
2007 S Final ATP Masters Djokovic 6-2, 6-3
2008 S Final ATP Masters Djokovic 6-1, 6-0
2008 16 ATP Masters Djokovic 6-0, 6-4
2008 Q Final ATP Masters Murray 6-3, 7-6(3)
2008 Final ATP Masters Murray 7-6(4), 7-6(5)
2009 Final ATP Masters Murray 6-2, 7-5
