31/01/2011 00:29 CEST - Rassegna internazionale

Djokovic re d’Australia (New York Times)

Andy Murray might have dominated their first match, played long ago when there were not millions and a major title at stake. But Novak Djokovic dominated the match that mattered much more, winning his second Australian Open title by defeating Murray, his boyhood friend, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, on Sunday.

It was an appropriate punctuation mark to a terrific tournament for Djokovic, the No. 3 seed from Serbia who lost just one set in seven matches and did not lose any against the defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals or against Murray in the final.

But then winning sets in Grand Slam finals has proved an impossible task so far for Murray, a 23-year-old from Britain who has now played in three such championship matches without extending his opponents.

His previous losses came against Federer, the first at the 2008 United States Open and the second here last year. But Djokovic was across the net on this sultry Sunday evening in Rod Laver Arena, a player from Murray’s generation, a player he has been facing since they were 13 in European junior events.

Their paths have diverged and converged through the years, but the victory Sunday clearly established Djokovic, not Murray, as the third-best player of this golden era in men’s tennis, dominated until now by Federer and Rafael Nadal. “He had an unbelievable tournament and deserved to win,” said Murray, who was seeded fifth (…)
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Murray, who broke down in tears after losing to Federer last year, kept his emotions in check this time.
“It’s better than last year,” Murray said. “He defended, I mean, unbelievably well tonight. When I got ahead in games, even just in points, he was sticking up lobs landing on the baseline and passing shots landing close to the lines. It was very difficult to find parts of the court where I was getting free points.” No British player has won a Grand Slam singles title since Fred Perry won the United States Open, then known as the United States Championships, in 1936.

With no Federer to face in the final this time, expectations for Murray were high in his native Scotland, with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, sending him messages before the match.

“Now’s the day and now’s the hour!” Salmond wrote. “The whole of Scotland is behind you, and will be cheering you on from near and far for a famous victory.”

But though 75 years seemed like a nice, round number to end a drought, Murray will now have to wait for the French Open, or more likely given his clay-court deficiencies, Wimbledon or the United States Open. As for Djokovic, who sat on his chair without much clothing on after throwing his shirt and shoes into the stands in celebration, he certainly has earned a nice, long rest.