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.