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By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, March 21, 2015

 
Novak Djokovic

A commanding Novak Djokovic drilled Andy Murray, 6-2, 6-3, scoring his sixth straight win over the Scot to surge into his fifth Indian Wells final.

Photo credit: @BNPParibasOpen.

Fatherhood and diaper duties have turned Novak Djokovic into a morning person. The world No. 1 needed no wake-up call to put a sluggish Andy Murray into a sleeper hold today.

A commanding Djokovic drilled Murray, 6-2, 6-3, scoring his sixth straight win over the Scot and turning their highly-anticipated 25th career showdown into a showcase for his all-court acumen.

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"I was expecting a battle—it always is with Andy," Djokovic told ESPN's Pam Shriver afterward, adding he arose at 7 a.m. to change son Stefan's diaper. "Today, I guess he wasn't where he wanted to be. He made a lot of unforced erorrs. I just tried to hang in there, get some free points on serve and play tactically right."

The lopsided victory sent the defending champion into his fifth Indian Wells final—and 31st career Masters title match—where he will face either second-ranked Roger Federer or his friend and frequent practice partner Milos Raonic.

This semifinal was such a severe beat down, it's a wonder Murray wasn't sporting bruise marks afterward.

Though Djokovic had played all three of his prior tournament matches at night, he adjusted to the 11 a.m. start time and bright conditions much more comfortably than his ornery opponent.

Squinting into the sun, Murray completely shanked a second serve into net. That ugly double fault gave Djokovic break point in the second game. When the Scot pulled off a forehand and sailed it wide, Djokovic had the break and a 2-0 advantage.

Whether it was his respect for the Serbian's return, the glare from a searing sun, tension from trying to reach his first Masters final in two years or all of the above, an anxious Murray looked skittish on serve, making just one of five first serves in the game.

Often players to use the first few games as a feeling-out process to find their range, but after Murray slapped his eighth error into net, Djokovic had burst out to a 3-0 lead and the rout was on.

It was a case of deja vu all over again for the two-time Grand Slam champion.

Djokovic drained Murray's legs and self-belief winning nine consecutive games in closing a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0 triumph to capture his Open Era-record fifth Australian Open title.

Shaking the futility was as easy as shrugging off sunburn for the lanky Scot. Murray finally snapped the Serb's winning streak at 12 games, holding at 30 for 1-3.

A crackling crosscourt rally ended with an extended Murray missing a full-stretch forehand wide to confront another break point. At that point, Murray's misery was evident in both an ugly winner to error ratio—he had one winner to 11 errors—and his chronic muttering of frustration to coach Amelie Mauresmo. A fully focused Djokovic broke again for 5-1.

Djokovic hit an exquisite drop shot lob combo, but bungled an easy backhand handing Murray double break point. Running down another drop shot, Murray flicked a pass off the top of the tape, breaking back for 2-5.

The luck was short-lived as was the set. Murray played a hideous game, dropping serve at love air-mailing his 16th error of the set beyond the baseline as Djokovic charged through the opener in 38 minutes.

The set was a perfect desert storm as a precise Djokovic exploited nearly every opportunity, while Murray served just 40 percent, won just two of nine first-serve points and managed only three points on his opponent's second serve.

A sharper second serve, the ability to take the ball earlier, and a more explosive forehand are three reasons why Djokovic has swept six in a row from his former junior rival to take a 17-8 lead in their head-to-head series. Djokovic uses spin both as an attacking shot to open angles and as a defensive device to help him recover court when stretched. He's been a big winner in the mental game as well. A moody Murray sweats the small stuff against the world No. 1, while Djokovic, even when venting frustration, refuses to let distraction deter him from completing the task at hand.

When Murray tried to juice up his forehand, particularly off a ball right down the middle, he had problems prescribing the right amount of spin. Sometimes, the shot sailed on him, sometimes he flat-lined it into net, but he never really looked comfortable controlling that stroke through the first set and a half of play.

Flattening another forehand into net to fall into a 0-2 second-set hole, Murray walk toward the "Fly Emirates" sign on the green back wall wearing the vacant expression of a man looking for his own escape exit.




Instead, an imperious Djokovic again tormented his unfortunate opponent with the drop-shot lob combination extending a commanding a one-set, 3-0 lead.

Murray slid his first ace of the day out wide to save a break point in the fourth game. Playing one of his most patient points of the match, Murray belted a forehand up the line and used a stinging serve to earn his second hold of the day for 1-3.

When Djokovic scattered a forehand, Murray had double break point 68 minutes into the match. Breathing a bit more heavily, Djokovic drilled successive serve winners then kicked a tricky second serve followed by an inside-out forehand winner to quiet the uprising and hold for 4-1.

Serving for the match with new balls, Djokovic made two absolutely astounding forehand gets to extend a pulsating point. Murray, who threw nearly everything he had at the top seed in the electric rally, eventually cracked sending a backhand long for 30-0.

On match point number four, Murray poked backhand into net ending the misery. The fourth-seeded Scot gave his conqueror a handshake and congratulatory pat on the chest. He probably could have slipped the top seed a cash tip for the lesson, too.


 

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