Djokovic survives marathon in Qatar
Serb defends tournament title in gruelling duel, ending world No. 1 Murray’s 28-match win streak
Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Qatar Open title by beating top-seeded Andy Murray 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the final on Saturday.
The dramatic match showcased the best of men’s tennis for two hours, 54 minutes. Djokovic needed four match points — three in the second set and one in the third — to prevail. He was also fortunate not to be defaulted for accidentally hitting a woman in the stands with a ball hit in anger.
“Best scenario I could ask for for beginning of the season,” Djokovic said.
“Playing all five matches in this tournament and then three hours against No. 1 of the world, (my) biggest rival, and winning in a thrilling marathon match is something that definitely can serve as a positive incentive for what’s coming up in Australia.”
Murray’s loss ended his 28-match winning streak that dated to Sept. 18.
Djokovic had three match points in the 10th game of the second set, but couldn’t prevent Murray from making it 5-5 and eventually winning the second set.
Murray finally capitalized on his fourth break point — second in that 10th game — with an inside out forehand winner.
Despite going up 0-30, Murray wasn’t able to come up with the same magic when Djokovic served for the match a second time at 5-4 in the third set.
Murray also failed to take advantage of a break point in the sixth game of the set.
“Physically, it was a good test to start the year,” Murray said. “My body feels all right just now, so that’s positive.”
Djokovic’s frustration got the better of him twice, which caused umpire Carlos Bernardes to hand the Serb two warnings, including the loss of a point on the second warning when Djokovic smashed his racket in frustration at 40-30 to end the 11th game of the second set prematurely.
The first warning came in the sixth game of the first set. Annoyed at losing a point, Djokovic angrily smacked a ball to the ground that accidentally flew into the stands and hit a woman.
While that could have resulted in a default, Bernardes just issued Djokovic a warning.