Novak Djokovic Wins Australian Open 2011 Men's Title

Novak Djokovic played focused tennis oblivious to any distractions and subdued runner-up Andy Murray in their two hour forty minute 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 championship match. In reclaiming his 2008 Australian Open Championship, Djokovic left little doubt who was the best player in the tournament.

The lanky Serb did not lose a set in the tournament and avenged some demons en route to the title. In the quarterfinals, Djokovic stormed past a red hot Tomaz Berdych (6) 6-1, 7-6 (5), 6-1. Berdych had eliminated Djoko from Wimbledon last season.

In the semifinals, Novak downed the number two seed, Roger Federer with surprising ease, 7-6 (5), 7-5, 6-4. Federer had won their last three meetings before Melbourne. However, Djokovic had downed Federer in their last Grand Slam event at the 2010 U.S. Open.

Andy Murray (5) had also downed Djokovic in their last three encounters. The two have played ever since emerging as junior phenoms. This Novak Djokovic, the 2011 brand, has matured in many ways and it was evident against the Scotsman who is the same age. His new mindset clearly caught Berdych, Federer and Murray by surprise,

Gone was all the old negativism and moody play. In its place a very fit, very confident and self-assured Djokovic took to the Melbourne courts. This Djokovic was not to be deterred, even though analysts kept expecting the old Djoko to surface.

For Murray, the fifth seed, it was a day that started poorly and ended in humility. Constantly beckoning his box and unusually vocal, Murray learned very quickly that he had underestimated Djokovic’s level of play.

Murray’s normally reliable first serve only landed successfully 53 percent of the time. He only won 64 percent of those serves. His second serve was even more disastrous, as the Scotsman won just 31 percent of his second serves.

Djokovic had all the answers. He landed 67 percent of his first serves and won 70 percent of those. He had no double faults. The Serb converted 7 of 17 break opportunities while Murray was successful 3 of 4 times. Djoko registered 26 winners and committed 33 unforced errors. Murray struck 21 winners but had 47 unforced errors.

More importantly, Djokovic was in command of the match mentally, a nuance that seemed to unnerve Murray. The champion’s groundstrokes were forceful and struck with purpose. His new patience resulted reduced his errors and increased his effectiveness. Murray has had success controlling the pace of play but on this day as in his three previous matches the Serb was relentless.

In reality, the match was not as close as the score indicates. After the first set, there was little doubt as to the outcome. For Djokovic, this Australian Open perfectly showcased his seemingly endless talent as well as his new commitment to fitness. He barely seemed to exert himself in the resounding win.

There is little doubt that the Serb will soon replace the Swiss as the number two ranked player. For Novak Djokovic, it is now a question of how much and how many. The rest of the tour will have to come to him and that looks a difficult feat.

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