By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, April 5, 2015
Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-0 to capture his fifth Miami title and become the first man in history to sweep Indian Wells and Miami in succession three different times.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy (@tennis_shots)
Weeks of off-season practice on this stadium court give Andy Murray a mental blue-print of the purple Crandon Park court he calls home.
By the time Novak Djokovic tormented the third seed with a slick drop shot- lob combination to reach championship point, Murray wore the weary and thoroughly befuddled expression of a man who had arrived home after a long journey only to find all his furniture rearranged. Everything that once seemed so familiar felt oddly out of place.
Djokovic displaced Murray then deconstructed him, breaking down his old rival's legs and his mind, in posting a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-0 victory to capture his fifth Miami Open championship.
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On a sunny Easter Sunday, the world No. 1 hit his way into history becoming the first man to sweep Indian Wells and Miami in succession three different times.
"It's obviously nice and flattering to hear I have achieved another record," Djokovic said. "Of course I do pay attention to that. Any kind of achievement that goes into the history books I'm hugely proud of and I appreciate it very much because I work hard for it. And I cherish it. Again, it's not something that obviously takes away my discipline. It just allows me to motivate myself even more. Just going to try and keep the same routine and mindset so far which helped me to achieve all these results."
It is Djokovic's 51st career title and his 22nd career Masters crown— he trails only Rafael Nadal (27) and Roger Federer (23) on the all-time list of Masters champions.
It wasn't a flawless performance—Djokovic converted just five of 18 break points and botched several smashes looking into the sun—but the fact he dominated the final set after his best tennis sometimes eluded him showed the Serbian's ability to reach a level Murray could not match.
The commanding close reinforced 2015 as the Year of the Djoker. Djokovic, who also force fed Murray a bagel in the last set of their Australian Open final, has now won seven straight against the world No. 4, as well as the last four Masters championships in a row.
"He serves well, he runs well, he moves exceptionally well," Murray said of Djokovic. "Physically, he's in great shape; he hits the ball well off both sides. He does most things on the tennis court well. That's why he's the No. 1 player in the world just now. In terms of game-wise, I feel like in a couple of the matches we played this year, I feel like I've been able to hang with him, but just not quite for long enough, unfortunately."
The second point of the match showed this rivalry still dazzles with wondrous shot-making despite Djokovic's dominance.
A net exchange took a lofty turn when Djokovic lifted the volley lob, a shot usually only pulled off by doubles finalist Martina Hingis, over his opponent's head. Djokovic saved a break point to hold.
Playing with urgency and plenty of positive energy at the outset, Murray held at love then went back to work. Winning a long point for break point, Murray swooped in for an easy smash, breaking for 2-1, leaving Djokovic barking frustration toward coach Boris Becker. A nervous 79 mph second serve that died in the net, a couple of volley errors and a floated forehand saw Murray give back the break from 30-0 up.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy
Blinking between points like a swimmer trying to clear his eyes of chlorine, the top seed dumped serve at love as Murray won eight straight points for a 4-3 advantage. When it was Murray's turn to serve into the sun, he couldn't cope either. Djokovic won eight of the next nine points to go up 5-4.
One of the longest exchanges of the day ended with Murray driving a slap shot backhand winner, helping the third seed hold to force the tie break.
Playing with the sun and breeze as his back, Djokovic jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the tie break. A shaky Murray made a couple of forehands to give Djokovic triple set point. He needed only one, closing when Murray buried a backhand into net.
After a punishing 68-minute opener, Djokovic had won exactly one more point, 42-41. The set supports Murray's claim that the margins in this rivalry are miniscule.
That's very true, the problem for the Scot is Djokovic always seems to prevail on pivotal points. And while Djokovic isn't immune to emotional outbursts, he kept his concentration and emotions in check at critical stages while Murray spent more time muttering anger and angst at his support box expending needless energy on stress relief.
Still the ornery Scot was able to channel his frustration into focus. Credit Murray for fighting off four break points, unloading on a 130 mph ace to save one and later lashing a 135 blast down the middle, to hold for 2-1 in the second.
Neither man could manage a break until the 10th game. A double fault put Djokovic in a love-30 hole and his inability to put away a tough overhead cost him as Murray hit a sensational full stretch forehand pass for triple break point. Bouncing off the court, Murray leaned into a return, catching the ball at the peak of its bounce and pounding a backhand return winner snatching the set to level the match.
A raging Djokovic, who was screaming toward his box, grabbed his towel from the ball kid who looked a little freaked out by either the veins bulging from Djokovic's neck, the fury in his screams or both. Admonished by the chair umpire after the set, Djokovic responded "You don't even know what I said."
"It's not what you said, it's the way you said it, Novak," the chair umpire replied. "The kid was scared."
That was really the last time the reinging champion looked stressed.
"I'm sorry, because I didn't pay attention on the ball boy and I just screamed at my box," the father of six-month-old son, Stefan, said afterward. "I haven't cursed at all in my language, but the chair umpire gave me a warning about that."
It was finesse rather than the fear factor that helped Djokovic break to open the decider.
Tossing up three lobs in a row, Djokovic extended the point then crunched a forehand earning a netted volley for break point. Murray played an aggressive point to erase it, but when he pushed a backhand into net he leaned over on his racquet like a cane and exhaled deep facing another break point. Sending another weary backhand into net, Murray shuffled to his seat, head down.
The degree of difficulty Murray faces simply trying to get the ball by the elastic Serbian was clear when Djokovic ran down a beguiling drop shot and answered with a sharp angle. When Murray slid a seeming winner down the line, Djokovic reached behind him to snap off a forehand winner with a clenched fist holding for 2-0.
"First two games were pretty long. I managed to win those. After that, I felt like he was getting tired," Djokovic said. "That's where the momentum was on my side. But generally it was just a physical battle between the two of us that play similar game. We haven't served that well, so we haven't had that many free points, as a matter of fact. With first or second serve we needed to earn every single point, to work for it. That's why this particular match was very tough."
Murray's misery intensified when Djokovic made an incredible sliding get and the Scot slapped a smash into net from point-blank range. Fans waving the Serbian flag began chanting "No-Vak! No-Vak!" Djokovic answered the call breaking again for 3-0 when Murray netted a backhand. That break brought coach Becker up from his seat applauding.
Tormenting his heavy-legged opponent with the drop shot lob combo, Djokovic gained match point. He closed with a slick serve and volley, capturing his fifth Miami Open crown with the wide smile of a man who realized his master plan and believes he can sustain this quality of play on every surface.
"I'm trying to enjoy the moment and also utilize this time of my career where I'm probably playing the tennis of my lifeand I'm feeling confident and physically fit," Djokovic said. "I'm aware that this cannot go on forever. There is going to be eventually a change of generations, some players that are going to start playing better and be stronger. But until that time comes, I'm going to try to stay as long as I can on the top and fight for the biggest titles."