By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, February 1, 2015

Sprinting exchanges spilled beyond the baseline as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray pushed each other all over the court for a frenetic two-and-a-half sets.

Stinging his shots with more fervor, Djokovic transformed a grinding challenge into brilliant deconstruction.

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Djokovic drained Murray's legs and self-belief winning nine consecutive games in closing a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0 triumph to capture his Open Era-record fifth Australian Open title.

The world No. 1 joins Australian legend and six-time champion Roy Emerson as the second man to win five Australian Open crowns.

"I'm so grateful to be standing here as a champion for the fifth time, and to be in the elite group of players — Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and all the legends of our sport," Djokovic said.

Little separated former junior rivals for two sets, but Djokovic commanded the center of the court winning 12 of the final 13 games. Jerking his opponent from corner to corner in the final set, Djokovic struck with conviction and closed with a shutout set for the second straight match.

Murray's sharp return game kept him in the match; his shallow second serve cost him a shot at winning it.

The sixth-seeded Murray played spurts of dynamic tennis throughout the first two sets. But he tightened at crunch time, clanking a double fault to gift the decisive break in the third set and winning just two points on his second serve during the final two sets. Midway through the fourth set, Murray was reduced to muttering derision and clawing at real and imagined pains in suffering his fourth Australian Open final defeat.

A free-flowing Djokovic took his game to a level Murray could not match.

"Obviously I had opportunities in the first three sets," Murray said. "In the fourth set, I mean, he was just ripping everything. Returns he was hitting on the baseline. Once he got up a break, he just loosened up and was just going for his shots. I couldn't recover.

"Novak has won five times here now, there's no disgrace, obviously, in losing to him."

It is Djokovic's eighth Grand Slam championship, equaling Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Fred Perry and Ken Rosewall for eighth place on the all-time list for most major titles.

The three hour, 40-minute final featured pulsating and punishing physical exchanges, some dizzying plot twists, 14 service breaks, a group of protestors crashing the court in the second set, head games between the former junior rivals, Murray's deflation and a immense show of strength from the 27-year-old Serbian.

Djokovic's shutout set marked the first time in history an Australian Open men's final concluded with a love set.

A tricky breeze made winning extended rallies and holding serve from one end of the court a tough test when the match began in cool conditions.

Stepping inside the baseline, Murray slid a forehand winner down the line for triple break point in the third game. Forward thinking and fine volleying from Djokovic denied them. Knifing a sharp forehand volley into the corner, Djokovic capped a 27-shot rally to erase the second break point, eventually holding for 2-1. Djokovic won nine of the next 10 points transforming deficit into a 3-1 advantage.

Anticipating the slider serve wide, the top seed snapped a forehand return winner crosscourt to earn the first break.

A free-flowing Djokovic backed up the break with an inside-out forehand, extending the lead to 4-1. By then, Djokovic was getting off first to open rallies and taking the decisive strike to end them. He hit 14 winners compared to only one error.

Cracking his two-handed backhand with more ambition, Murray broke for 3-4. A crash to the court lunging for a pass that trickled off the net left Djokovic's right thumb twitching. He requested the trainer after breaking back for 5-3. Murray responded exploiting successive errors in breaking back for 4-5.

On the ensuing changeover, the trainer came out and sprayed Djokovic's thumb to numb the pain. He threw down two aces holding for 6-5. Murray answered with a love hold to force the extra session.

Tie break tension produced nervous mistakes from both men. Djokovic opened with his first double fault and Murray gave the gift back with his first double fault to give back the min-break at 4-2. The breeze at his back at 5-all, Murray was in control of the point when he pushed a routine forehand volley long, slapping the net in frustration with his racquet. Djokovic, who protected his second serve with more care, closed a quality set when Murray netted a backhand return off a second serve. The Scot plopped in his court side seat giving a sarcastic thumbs up to his support team after losing five of the final six points.

Murray knew the importance of his first-set slide: Djokovic was 11-0 when winning the first set in their prior matches.

Regrouping, Murray broke for a 2-0 second-set lead as a stumbling Djokovic sprayed a few off-balance shots in a sloppy second game.

Murray was in control, but Djokovic seized a strong-hold on the match with a 13-point run. That spike helped turn a 1-2 deficit into a 4-2 lead. Snarling at himself in frustration, Murray looked like a man on the brink of a melt down. Instead, he got an unexpected time out.

A group of protestors jumped onto the court halting play after the seventh game as security ejected the intruders while a trio of security guards formed a triangle of protection around both players. The rude disruption gave Murray time to reflect and reset. When play resumed, Murray stormed forward with more urgency, winning 12 of the next 14 points to edge back in front, 5-4.

Earning set point in the next game, Murray netted his signature shot, the two-hander, and was left seething as Djokovic withstood the challenge. After two hours, 10 minutes of zig-zagging rallies the set was deadlocked at 5-all, as the pair split the first 144 points.

Murray fought off three break points, sliding his third ace down the T to save the third, holding for 6-5. Djokovic answered with a love hold as the set escalated into another tie breaker.

Opening the breaker with an ace, Murray drew errors in running exchanges extending the lead to 6-2. Djokovic saved a second set point with a serve-and-smash charge before the Scot slid a forehand at the Serbian's feet to finally seal an 80-minute adventure of a set.

After an early exchange of breaks, mounting physical stress and mental strain reached a breaking point in a two-game span of the third set. Djokovic, who was off-balance and staggered a few times reaching for shots, cleaned up his game and picked up the pace. Murray, who mistakenly believed his opponent was on the verge of cramping, began looking wasted and frazzled.

Facing break point at 3-all, Djokovic angled a backhand drop volley. A streaking Murray caught up to the ball but with an inviting expanse of open court down the line, he netted a backhand into the top of the tape, nearly colliding with the ball kid near net. Djokovic navigated the threat for 4-3, sparking a five-point run to earn triple break point.

A twitchy Murray floated a double fault wide to donate the break and a 5-3 lead. Afterward, Murray conceded he mis-read Djokovic's body language; the Scot got conned and suffered a concentration lapse that cost him.

"The third set was frustrating because I got a bit distracted when he, like, fell on the ground after a couple of shots. It appeared that he was cramping, and then I let that distract me a little bit," Murray said. "That's what I'm most disappointed about, not so much the fourth set because I think, especially at the end of it, he was just going for everything, and it was going in. But the third set was more frustrating for me."

The four-time champion held at 15 to seal the third set with a furious fist pump toward fans waving the Serbian flag and shouting a declarative "come on!" that must have sounded like "game over" to a disconsolate Murray.

"I got a very important break of serve at 2-Love for him in the third that got me back in the match mentally, as well," Djokovic said. "It was a cat-and-mouse fight. It always is. We always try to outplay the opponents with the groundstrokes, with the long rallies, a lot of variety in the games: spin, flat, slice, dropshots. I think both went out with the full repertoire of the shots we have. I hope everybody that watched it enjoyed the finals. From my side it was definitely very exhausting. Just glad that I believed it all the way through."

Djokovic managed his energy, emotions and second serve more effectively in defeating the Scot for the third time in an Australian Open final. He won 62 percent of his second-serve points, which not only dwarfed Murray's 34 percent of second-serve points won, it was even higher than Djokovic's first-serve points won percentage (59 percent).

The four-time finalist competed with snarling defiance for two-and-a-half sets. But a spent Murray shuffled around the court with vacant resignation after netting a fairly routine forehand down the line to drop serve in the first game of the fourth set. Djokovic, who played shrewder situational tennis throughout the match, consolidated at 30 for 2-0.

"In these particular matches and circumstances mental strength probably plays the most important role," Djokovic said. "In winning those matches, you need to be able to find that inner strength, mental, physical, emotional, especially when you're down in the finals and when you're playing a top rival. There's a lot of things that can influence your state of mind. Of course, as I was mentioning before, it's not always possible to be 100 percent concentrated for three and a half hours. But it's important to keep going because you fall many times, but mental strength allows you to keep going."

A sharper second serve and and more explosive forehand are two reasons why Djokovic has swept five in a row from his rival to take a 16-8 lead in their head-to-head series. Djokovic uses spin both as an attacking shot to open angles and as a defensive device to help him recover court when stretched. Murray's slice second serve lacks the bite and sting of Djokovic's second delivery and as his legs grew heavier his forehand failed him.

When Murray flagged a forehand into net to face double break point in the third game, he was clutching his leg and leaning on his Head racquet as if it were a cane. Djokovic zapped a backhand winner to break for 3-0 and the finish line was clear. The top seed converted his second match point when Murray sent a backhand into net.