Andy Murray walked out of Rod Laver Arena with his head held high in the early hours of Saturday morning here at Melbourne Park but it is Novak Djokovic who will face Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final — a third consecutive clash for this pair in a Grand Slam final.
After 4 hours and 50 minutes of the most extraordinary tennis — some of it ordinary, much of it brilliant and all of it riveting — Djokovic went through, 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5. The pair met here in last year's final but that straight-set victory for the Serb pales when compared to the drama that kept the prime minister of Australia, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Frank Sedgman and other champions gasping in their seats until 12:35 a.m. in Melbourne as these two incredible athletes ran, reached and lunged in prolonged rallies which defied belief.
Neither man was at his best at the start and it seemed it might be a quick affair when Murray went 0-2 down at the start of the second set. But he kept plugging away, moving Djokovic from side to side with such relentless regularity that the world No. 1 seemed to be at the point of collapse by the time the Scot fought back to level the match at one set apiece.
It was a hot evening and, while Djokovic struggled for breath, Murray glugged bottle after bottle of a health drink specially prepared by his fitness trainer. Djokovic, in between munching bananas, hid under his towel at changeovers and took some potion or other which seemed to help him recover.
He was soon covering acres of court again and he needed to because Murray made him work during a fluctuating third set which provided the first real drama. The No. 4 seed broke for 6-5 but could not serve it out as he double-faulted and then hooked a backhand wide after some ferocious Serb hitting.
Murray had won three of the four tie-breaks these two had played and extended that lead by reaching set points at 6-3 with a big forehand winner. He eventually grabbed it 7-4 but the effort seemed to have left him drained and, in a complete turnaround the fourth set was over in a flash — just 25 minutes compared to the third which had lasted 88.
Djokovic carried that dominance into the fifth and broke to lead 4-2, extending it to what everyone assumed was a match-winning 5-2 lead. But it was not that easy because Murray, with Ivan Lendl there to add some mental steel, is a better player than he was a year ago. When Djokovic served for the match, he broke him to love, finishing a terrific game with a forehand winner as Djokovic came in.
And the excitement built as the man who has now made it to five consecutive Grand Slam semifinals or better tried valiantly to reach another final. And in the 11th game he got so close. Reaching two break points, he netted a poor forehand but then set off on an incredible rally — one of the best of the match — and only to miss a backhand as Djokovic fought for his life. Murray got a third chance to break but again Djokovic came up with a big serve and Andy netted.
Spent, Murray was broken in the next game and as Djokovic collapsed on his back in relief, a butterfly fluttered over his prone body.
"I'm proud of the way I fought," said an ashen-faced Murray. "I have a different attitude to this time last year. Everybody matures at different ages and now I feel I'm ready mentally. I think I showed tonight that there is not much difference between the top four."
Asked about Lendl's influence, Murray managed a weak smile. "He told me it was going to be painful and it was."
During his on-court interview Djokovic recognized Laver in the president's box and apologized for all the baseline play — in recognition of the fact that the man they called "The Rocket" was a great serve and volleyer. "I will try and do better," he laughed.
It would certainly make life easier on his body and the question now is what kind of condition Djokovic will be in on Sunday. He seems to have limitless funds of reserve energy these days, despite appearing to be near to collapse early on, but Nadal will have had an extra day to rest and that may turn out to be significant. But, after this magnificent battle, Novak had shown everyone why he had returned to Melbourne as world No 1.
Djokovic stressed that he would be doing everything possible to get his body in shape over the following 36 hours, considering how demanding the match had been.
"We both went through physical crises during the match," he said. "Me in the second and third sets and him in the fourth. But you have to expect that you have your ups and downs in a match like that. Both of us have great returns and it seemed we were breaking each other all the time. And Andy is a great player and is more confident and more aggressive on court now."
