Third seed Novak Djokovic produced a superb display to beat Andy Murray in straight sets to claim the second Australian Open title of his career.
Djokovic, the Melbourne winner in 2008, secured his second grand slam victory with a 6-4 6-2 6-3 success under the floodlights at the Rod Laver arena.
The 23-year-old Serb was always in control against fifth seed Murray, who has now lost three grand slam finals in straight sets, including the last two at Melbourne Park.
The two players came into the final in brilliant form, with Djokovic having beaten defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals and Murray coming back from a set down to see off David Ferrer — who had beaten world No.1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.
And, unusually on the men’s ATP Tour, the pair had not faced each other for two years, meaning neither player had a recent psychological edge over their opponent.
This was also the first major final without Federer of Nadal in three years and it began cagily, with both players holding their serve until the 10th game.
But Murray then served a double fault and netted a forehand before eventually losing the set in just under an hour.
Djokovic carried on that momentum into the second set, making it seven games in a row to go 5-0 ahead, before eventually winning it in some style.
Both players tired in the third set, exchanging four breaks before Murray’s serve let him down again and Djokovic closed the match out in two hours and 39 minutes.
In his on-court post-match interview, Djokovic paid tribute to his opponent: “I want to congratulate Andy for a great two weeks and he has played finals here in the last two years now.
“We’ve known each other for such a long time and it was really difficult to play against him tonight. It’s a tough one but hopefully he will have another chance to win a grand slam trophy, I am sure with his talent he will.”
Djokovic continued: “I dedicate this title to my family back home because it has been a tough period for our people in Serbia.
“But we are trying every single day to present our country in the best possible way, so this is for my country.”
Murray, who was attempting to become the first British grand slam winner in 75 years, said: “I’ll try to keep it together this year. Hopefully, I will come back and have more chances in the future.”
