Top 5 Djokovic V/S Murray Matches

Published 11/20/2016, 11:29 AM EST

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The two went to training camp together. The two are of the same age. Murray won the first match ever they played. They have competed 34 times since then. Djokovic leads 24-10.

But this time the situation is different. They not only fight for the prestigious ATP World Tour Finals Trophy, which is yet to be won by the Scott, they fight for the year end World Number 1 ranking, something that both are hungry for at the moment.

Djokovic has had a pretty off season of 2016. Despite winning two grand slams, he or any of the Nole fans would count this season as memorable for the Serb especially considering he lost the Number 1 ranking to Murray on November 7th, 2016.

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With the stakes ever so high, the two meet off again. Will Andy Murray be able to translate his run of form to outscore Djokovic or will the former world number 1 strike back with all his might?!

Meanwhile, check out of 5 of their best head to head matches so far:

2013 WIMBLEDON SEMIFINAL

Murray had to fight back from a break down in both the second and third sets, ultimately winning the last 4 games of the match after being down by 4 games to 2. Leading by two sets and 5 games to 4 in the third, Murray raced into a 40–0 lead in the final game, gaining three championship points. However, not to be outdone, Djokovic fought back strongly, first to deuce, after which he held three separate break point opportunities. Murray managed to save each of these, before Djokovic hit the ball into the net twice to hand Murray the title, the first by any British man since Fred Perry in 1936. The straight sets victory meant Murray tied Djokovic at 2 wins each in Grand Slam finals, leading by 5 to 4 in their total finals head-to-head.

2013:AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL

This was the second time (after 2011) that Djokovic and Murray had met in an Australian Open Final. Djokovic was the two-time defending champion (having beaten Murray in 2011 and Nadal in 2012), while Murray looked to win his 2nd consecutive Grand Slam. Murray was coming off an exhausting five-set win over Roger Federer in the semifinals, while Djokovic breezed to an easy 89 minute, straight sets victory over David Ferrer. The first set was a tightly contested one. Djokovic had 5 break points, but failed to convert any of them, as Murray won the 1st set. Murray and Djokovic again went to a tiebreak in the next set, but Djokovic capitalized on a key double fault by Murray to win the 2nd set. The first two sets lasted a combined 2 hours and 13 minutes. But then it was all Djokovic from there, and he won in four sets, becoming the first man in the Open era to win 3 straight Australian Open championships.

2012: SHANGHAI MASTERS

This was the first meeting between the two players in any match since the 2012 US Open final. Andy Murray was the two-time defending champion in Shanghai and was going for his third successive title, whilst Novak Djokovic had just won the China Open the previous week. Andy Murray took a close first set before the second set went to a tiebreak. Murray had five championship points but Djokovic saved them all to win the tiebreak 13–11 (the longest tiebreak between the two players, eclipsing the 12–10 first set tiebreak won by Murray at the recent US Open final) before going on to win the final set and deny Murray his third successive Shanghai Masters title

2012:US OPEN FINAL

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This was the second Grand Slam final the two played, and the first time the two had met at Flushing Meadows. Murray claimed the first two sets, the first in a 24 minute tiebreak, and the second by 7 games to 5 after being 4-0 up at one point, before Djokovic levelled the scoring to take the match into a deciding fifth set, in which Murray regained his prior momentum and emerged victorious. This match equals the record set by Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilanderas the longest US Open final in history, as well as the second longest major final in the Open Era, behind the 2012 Australian Open final(which also featured Djokovic). It also featured the longest ever tie-break in a US Open final, with a 12–10 final score in the first set.

 

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2006 MADRID MASTERS

  • This was the first professional match Murray and Djokovic played together, in the round of 16 at the ATP 1000 Madrid Masters in 2006. This was the first of 12 matches at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments the two would play, with Djokovic being the eventual winner in three sets.

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Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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