Top-5 matches of the historic Andy Murray-Novak Djokovic rivalry
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Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have been two of the greatest players of their generation and very early on in their careers had joined Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on a different level with the quartet being called the Big-4. With Federer and Nadal well established by the time Novak and Andy rose to prominence, the pair pipped the rest of the Tour to separate themselves as they become regulars in the business end of majors and other big events.
The two Grand Slam champions have met 36 times so far of which 19 matches were finals of the tournaments. Novak currently leads the head-to-head with an overall record of 25-11 record and an 11-8 record in the finals they have played. Djokovic has a 16-7 record against Murray on hardcourts, a 5-1 record on clay and a 4-1 record on indoor hardcourts while Murray leads Novak 2-0 on Grass.
Having last played in the 2017 Qatar Open finals, their 36th clash, the duo is tied with Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe, who also met 36 times, in the list for most prominent rivalries on the Tour. Murray and Djokovic currently trail Federer-Nadal (40 matches), Djokovic-Federer (50 matches) and Djokovic-Nadal (58 matches) in the list for most meetings.
Top-5 matches of the Andy Murray-Novak Djokovic rivalry
2008 Cincinnati Masters
Murray had reached the finals of a Masters tournament for the first time while Novak was playing in his 6th Masters finals having lost his first and then winning the next four consecutive finals to come as a heavy favourite for the finals. Murray had lost the first four meetings against the Serbian and had registered his first win just a week ago in the Canadian Open. Murray however had other plans and won the title in straight-sets with both sets going into tiebreakers but the Brit held his fort to capture the first of his 14 Masters titles so far.
2012 Australian Open
Murray and Novak met for the second time in the Australian Open, however this time it was in the semi-finals having met earlier in last year’s finals. Novak was the defending champion after a successful 2011 campaign winning all majors except the French Open. Murray was still looking for his first Grand Slam title and looked almost qualified for yet another Grand Slam final as he took a 2-1 set lead.
Djokovic then switched gears to stage an epic comeback to take home the next two sets after a marathon match of 4 hours and 50 minutes to reach the final once again and would later defend his title in the longest Grand Slam final ever played when he beat Nadal in the finals after 5 hours and 53 minutes.
2012 US Open
The 2012 US Open finals was the second Grand Slam finals meeting between the two and Murray was desperate for his first Grand Slam title having suffered four consecutive defeats in Grand Slam finals. With Djokovic being the defending champion, it was the perfect revenge opportunity for Murray to take home his first major title and end Britain’s wait of 75 years for a Grand Slam men’s champion.
Novak however did not make it an easy win for Murray as the match went into 5-sets despite Murray taking a 2-0 set lead. However, after 4 hours and 54 minutes, Murray emerged as a Grand Slam champion for the first time having equalled and broken many records on the way to the title.
2013 Wimbledon
Having suffered yet another Australian Open finals defeat to Djokovic earlier in the year, Murray faced the Serbian once again in the finals of the 2013 Wimbledon having reached his second consecutive Wimbledon finals as he was the runner-up in the 2012 edition. Novak had won the Championships in 2011 and was looking for his second title while Murray was the home favourite once again.
It marked the only second occasion in the Djokovic-Murray rivalry in Grand Slam matches when the match ended in straight-sets as Murray became the first British man in 76 years to win the Championships. The match also saw Novak fail to win a set in a Grand Slam match after 80 matches on what was one of the biggest victories of Murray’s career.
2016 ATP Finals
In a rare occurrence in the sport, the finals of the Year-End Championships was going to decide which man would finish as the World No. 1 for the year. Both Novak and Murray had claimed Grand Slam titles in the season with the Serbian taking home the Australian Open and the French Open while Murray won his second Wimbledon title.
Novak had beaten Murray in both the finals in Melbourne and Paris and it was the perfect occasion for Murray as the Serbian was also the 4-time defending champion at the Year-End Championships. Murray was the top-seed in the ATP Finals with Novak in the second spot. With the World No. 1 year-end position on the line, Murray beat Novak in straight-sets to end the year as the top-ranked player, the only time he finished a season as the No. 1 while Djokovic finished the year as the World No. 2.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)