So the dream is over, for the present at least. Novak Djokovic simply blew Andy Murray away with a dominant display and was a worthy winner of the Australian Mens' singles title.
The match started worryingly for Murray supporters as it was Djokovic who looked the more alive and aggressive player; to confirm this, the Serb won the first 6 points and Murray's first point was only courtesy of a Djokovic error. While Murray did hold his first service game, it wasn't without a considerable struggle; as in the semi-final, Murray's groundstrokes were often too short and gave his opponent too much time to consider his returns.
The game then settled into a hard-hitting pattern and, for a short time, Murray seemed to be hitting a little deeper and put Djokovic under some pressure; the Serb was the one doing most of the running. Just when it looked certain that the first set would go to a tie-break, Murray lost form and his serve; suddenly, Djokovic was in the ascendancy. Murray's unforced error count increased and he compounded his problems by losing his first service game in set 2 and then his second. Djokovic was in total control and Murray looked down and out.
Somehow, Murray managed to hold serve to avoid a second set whitewash and, then astonishingly, Djokovic dropped his serve to love as nerves got the better of him when serving for the set. Given half a chance to get back in the set, Murray then threw his own service away again to lose it. For all the world, Djokovic now looked unbeatable.
As the third set got under way, Murray broke the Djokovic serve again and hopes began to rise but, almost inevitably, it was false hope. Another poor game saw the Scot lose his service and Djokovic was back in command. Murray's first serve percentage was simply not good enough and his unforced errors far too many to be able to compete at this level. In truth, his performance was on a par with his semi-final against David Ferrer, when his opponent was not good enough to capitalise on the Scot's lapses, but Djokovic is no Ferrer.
Poor tactical play from Murray saw him lose yet another service game to go 1-3 down in the third set; he'd now lost 10 of the last 13 games and held serve only once in that time. Yes, Djokovic was playing well but Murray was providing very weak opposition.
One thing that can be said in Murray's favour is that he still kept trying; helped by some uncharacteristcally poor play from Djokovic, Murray broke back and then stayed 'on-serve' to 3-4 to again give his supporters some hope. Again, they were to be disappointed. With Djokovic continuing to hit powerfully and Murray putting far too many shots weakly into the net, the Scot's service escaped him again and the Serb easily held his, as Murray played 3 weak shots into the net. The Crown belonged to Novak Djokovic.
Overall, this was a good performance from Djokovic, fine serving, a lot of powerful and well placed hitting, and great defence; he deserved to win. From Murray, it was a poor display from start to finish. His service was weak and his groundstrokes lacked penetration; his error rate was ridiculously high and his overall demeanour lacklustre. He managed to win only 5 of the last 18 games and held his serve only twice in his last 9 attempts.
As usual, the BBC commentary team did their best to convince us that Murray had really done well but had been unlucky to come up against a Djokovic playing at his very best. This is rubbish. Yes, the Serb was good, but Murray was, frankly, a pale imitation of a top-class tennis player. At no stage did he look like a potential winner and, playing like this, he will never win a Grand Slam. In three Slam finals, Murray has yet to put up much of a fight or to win a set; does he actually have what it takes to be a real winner ?
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