Novak Djokovic Beats Andy Murray, Wins Third Consecutive Australian Open

Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray on Sunday to become the first tennis player to win three consecutive Australian Open titles in the Open era.

Murray fell to Djokovic with a final match score of 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2.

After the match, Djokovic said of the Australian Open:

“It’s definitely my favorite Grand Slam. It’s an incredible feeling winning this trophy once more. I love this court.”

And Novak has plenty of reason to love the Australian tournament, having won four of his six major titles at the event including 21 unbeaten matches in a row.

Over the last 45 years, nine other men have won back-to-back Australian Opens but none have made it three in a row.

Speaking of his final match against Andy Murray, the Open winner said:

“It’s been an incredible match as we could have expected. When we play each other, it’s always, we push each other to the limit and I think those two sets went over two hours, 15 minutes, physically I was just trying to hang in there. Play my game and focus on every point.”

Last year, it took Djokovic 5-hours, 53-minutes to claim victory over Rafael Nadal; this year, his match ended in a less energy draining 3-hours, 40-minutes.

The win was also a bit of revenge for Djokovic who lost to Andy Murray in the U.S. Open finals last year. Murray’s win at the time ended a 76-year drought for British men at the majors.

The win also guarantees Djokovic the No.1 world ranking; he is followed by Federer and Murray for second and third. The new rankings will be announced at by ATP on Monday.