Friday, January 27, 2012

Andy Murray loses to Novak Djokovic in Australian Open semis


Australian Open final: Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal.
Andy Murray pushed Novak Djokovic to the limit of his powers but went down in five sets to miss out on a place in the Australian Open final.
The British number one fought back from losing the first set to win the next two, and from 5-2 in the decider.
But defending champion Djokovic raised his level to battle through 6-3 3-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 7-5 in four hours 50 minutes.
The world number one, who beat Murray in the 2011 final, plays Rafael Nadal in Sunday's showpiece at 0830 GMT.
Murray was outclassed by Djokovic 12 months ago - their only previous meeting - and after the first set it seemed a repeat was on the cards.
The British number faced two break points in his opening service game before a double-fault in his second handed Djokovic a 3-1 lead.
Murray was lacking aggression and although he hit straight back with a backhand winner, Djokovic replied with a devastating break to love.
The top seed served out the 47-minute first set to 15 and continued to dominate at the start of the second, racing 2-0 ahead.
Murray was starting to berate himself but he managed to deny Djokovic the double-break in game three and that proved the turning point.
Two perfectly constructed points - both finished with athletic smashes - helped Murray level, and he moved 4-2 in front when Djokovic drilled a backhand long.
The Serbian rallied in game seven but he was now looking exhausted and Murray outlasted him in 41-shot rally en route to a 5-3 lead.
Four huge deliveries helped him overturn a 15-40 deficit and level the match, paving the way for a gruelling third set.
An 18-minute first game in which Djokovic saved five break points was followed by back-to-back breaks for 2-2, and Murray saved three set points in game 10.
He then broke for 6-5 only to pull a backhand wide when serving for the set, gifting Djokovic the momentum going into the tie-break.
However, Murray snatched the early initiative and made sure he was never behind, powering over the line when Djokovic fired wide.
The world number four let out a mammoth roar in the direction of his support team but such intensity was absent in a 25-minute fourth set.
Djokovic raced 4-0 up and saved break points for 5-1 before striking to love as Murray appeared to have turned his focus to the decider.

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