Ice man Djokovic mauls Murray in Melbourne final

Ice man Djokovic mauls Murray in Melbourne final

Third
seed Novak Djokovic pulverized Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 6-3 to win his
second Australian Open Sunday, dashing British hopes of a first men’s
grand slam champion in 75 years.

Eye-balling Murray
with intent across the net, Serbia’s Davis Cup hero completely
dominated the Scot, who came out flat and has now lost all three of his
grand slam finals without winning a set.

“I dedicate this
title to my family, my brothers, my girl Jelena back home, my people
that have been with me for so many years,” an emotional Djokovic said
as he cradled the trophy.

“It has been a
tough period for our people in Serbia,” added Djokovic, who also paid
tribute to the victims of the recent Queensland floods.

“We are trying
every single day to present our country in the best possible way, so
this is for my country Serbia.” Djokovic then saluted hundreds of noisy
fans wrapped in Serbian flags from the balcony of a television studio,
holding the trophy aloft soccer-style as they bounced up and down
singing below.

“This means the world to me,” he said. “Any grand slam title is a huge achievement. I have dedicated my life to the sport.

“I’m still 23 and
hopefully will have more chances to win grand slams. It really gives me
a lot of motivation. It’s a huge confidence boost.” Djokovic, who
lifted his only previous major title in Melbourne three years ago, got
off to a scorching start in energy-sapping heat supposed to favor fifth
seed Murray.

Relentless pressure
forced a forehand error from Murray, giving Djokovic the first set
against last year’s Australian Open runner-up, who played with a tired,
hang-dog look throughout a surprisingly one-sided match.

Murray rattled

Murray, rattled by
noise from Djokovic’s box and berating himself for his ineptitude,
began to unravel in the second set, screaming at his own coaching team:
“Be quiet!” A fired-up Djokovic took a stranglehold on the final by
ripping another big forehand down the line, a dejected Murray slumping
in his chair muttering to himself in despair.

Djokovic went for
the jugular, breaking for 3-1 in the third set with a breath-taking
backhand down the line, the Serbian pumping his fists and roaring with
delight.

Murray immediately
broke back but Djokovic, ice in his veins, blasted a forehand cross
court to go 5-3 up and finished the job with another crunching forehand
the Scot could only dump into the net after two hours 39 minutes.

Djokovic celebrated by throwing his racket, shirt and shoes into the crowd as a packed Rod Laver Arena went wild.

Murray was bidding to become Britain’s first male grand slam winner since Fred Perry in 1936.

He lost the 2008 U.S. Open final and last year’s Melbourne final in straight sets, both times to Roger Federer.

“I’ll try to keep it together this year,” said Murray, who had been reduced to tears by Federer last year.

“I won’t lose sleep over it. I want to try to win a grand slam but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.”

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