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Djokovic Edges Murray In 5 Hours, Sets Up Final Against Nadal
January 27, 2012

Djokovic prevailed over Murray in a five-set marathon lasting nearly five hours. (AFP Photo) Djokovic prevailed over Murray in a five-set marathon lasting nearly five hours. (AFP Photo)
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Defending champion Novak Djokovic moved into an Australian Open final against Rafael Nadal after struggling past Andy Murray in a five-set, nearly five-hour semifinal late on Friday night.

Despite appearing tired and sore from the second set on, Djokovic, who said he had experienced breathing problems in his quarterfinal against David Ferrer, rallied to beat Murray 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 7-5 in a rematch of the 2011 final at Melbourne Park to reach his third consecutive Grand Slam final.

After wasting a chance to serve out the match at 5-3 in the fifth and letting Murray back into the contest, Djokovic cashed in his first match point when the Scottish player missed a forehand after four hours, 50 minutes.

Djokovic dropped onto his back, fully laid out on the court. He got up and shook hands with Murray before jogging back out onto the court like a boxer, dropping to his knees and crossing himself.

It was already after 12:30 a.m. on Saturday when Djokovic got up again and pumped his arms triumphantly.

The semifinal flirted with the record for the longest match at the Australian Open. Nadal beat Fernando Verdasco in five hours, 14 minutes in 2009.

“There’s not any words that can describe the feeling I have now,” Djokovic said. “Andy deserves the credit to come back from 2-5 down. He was fighting. I was fighting.

“Evidently it was a physical match … this was one of the best matches I played. Emotionally and mentally, it was equally hard.”

Djokovic now gets a shot at his third Australian Open title, while Murray’s quest to be Britain’s first male Grand Slam winner in 76 years goes on.

Djokovic finished last year at No. 1 after winning three of the four majors, including a straight-sets win over Murray in the Australian final. His only loss at a Grand Slam in 2011 was against Roger Federer in the French Open semifinals.

He is now aiming to be only the fifth man since the Open era started in 1968 to win three straight majors. His 70-6 win-loss record in 2011 included six wins over Nadal — all in finals.

“What can be a bigger challenge than playing Rafa Nadal, one of the greatest players?” Djokovic said. “I’m going to try to recover and obviously it is going to be physical as well, so I’m going to do some push-ups tonight.”

Nadal, the 2009 Australian Open winner, beat four-time champion Federer in Thursday’s semifinal and has an extra day to prepare for Sunday night’s final. 

AP, AFP