Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in the Australian Open final, 2011 on hard court
It was Djokovic's second title at the event and he would go onto win the next 2 years as well. Murray had been runner-up the previous year and won the pair's last 3 matches. The two would go onto contest the finals in 2013, 2015 and 2016 as well a semi the following year, with Djokovic winning all the matches
Djokovic won 106 points, Murray 78
Serve Stats
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (50/75) 67%
- 1st serve points won (35/50) 70%
- 2nd serve points won (15/25) 60%
- Aces 6
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (15/75) 20%
Murray...
- 1st serve percentage (58/109) 53%
- 1st serve points won (37/58) 64%
- 2nd serve points won (16/51) 31%
- Aces 6, Service Winners 3 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (28/109) 26%
Serve Patterns
Djokovic served...
- to FH 55%
- to BH 40%
- to Body 5%
Murray served...
- to FH 40%
- to BH 51%
- to Body 9%
Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 77 (32 FH, 45 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 19 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- 14 Forced (9 FH, 5 BH)
- Return Rate (77/105) 73%
Murray made...
- 60 (35 FH, 25 BH)
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 9 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 8 Forced (3 FH, 5 BH)
- Return Rate (60/75) 80%
Break Points
Djokovic 7/18 (10 games)
Murray 3/4 (3 game)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Djokovic 20 (11 FH, 5 BH, 2 FHV, 2 OH)
Murray 12 (8 FH, 2 BH, 2 OH)
Djokovic's FHs - 2 cc, 2 dtl (1 pass), 5 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 1 drop shot
- BHs - 2 cc (1 pass at net), 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 lob
Murray's FHs - 1 cc return, 3 dtl (1 pass), 3 inside-out (1 at net) and 1 inside-in/cc
- BHs - 1 cc pass and 1 dtl
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Djokovic 38
- 30 Unforced (15 FH, 13 BH, 1 FHV, 1 OH)... with 1 non-net swinging FHV
- 8 Forced (5 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 50.7
Murray 67
- 54 Unforced (22 FH, 28 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 OH)
- 13 Forced (7 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.4
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Djokovic was...
- 7/12 (58%) at net, with...
- 0/1 retreated
Murray was...
- 6/20 (30%) at net, with...
- 1/4 (25%) forced back/retreated
Match Report
Djokovic is solid enough and often impressive in his hard hitting, while Murray is poor of consistency and passive of play in a one-sided and dull match on a slow-ish hard court
The two play similarly. Both serve solidly and return very well. Play is ball bashing of nature, usually around middle of court. Djokovic hits harder, deeper and far more consistently while also being more willing to attack with wide shots. Djokovic defends excellently often and well overall while Murray's stomach for it varies across match
Djoko lead the baseline hitting in first set - hitting harder and looking to attack or at least, beat down Murray. Murray counter-punches. Missing a fair few winner attempts, Djoko largely tones down to beat down play. The set ends with sole break, ironically in one of the more attacking games Murray plays. Couple of excellent points from Djokovic in it, especially one where he defends with gusto before taking control of point and finish at net
Murray had been passive, if not poor in first set and that drops to poor and error riddled in second. Djoko stays solid and playing beat down baseline stuff and Murray caves. Djoko has break point for the bagel, but misses an attacking return. Murray not only holds, but breaks to love to follow before Djoko breaks again to wrap up the set
Third set is best of bunch, though coloured by Murray looking like a frustrated dying duck. He breaks to open but plays a very poor game ending with an OH miss to be broken back. Djoko breaks again next chance in an 18 point game, ending with a great BH dtl pass winner after being on the defensive all point. Murray breaks back at once - and consolidates after saving 2 more break points. From 3-3, Djoko wins next 3 games. Murray hits harder and looks to step up more and come to net in this set, while also appearing tired enough to not move well and miss regulation shots. His play is probably at its best, but contrasts with whiney behavior. Curiously, Djoko wins just 10/21 first serve points but 7/9 second in the set. Some great defensive play from him in particular in the set
Serve, Return & Play
Just solid serving from both, while the returning is excellent. Djoko's large superiority in play is key, not the serve-return complex
As such, he doesn't go for much on the serve and lands 67% first serves in. Murray is just 53% - and that's with holding back on the big serve most of the time. He needs to, to get a higher lot in since he's winning just 31% second serve points, but 53% in while holding back is particularly low
Terrific 80% return rate by Murray, while Djoko is still good 73%. Both return firmly in a way that server would need to actively be looking to seize control of point. Djoko gets a higher lot deep to baseline or particularly powerfully to put Murray on defensive, but that's the exception not the norm. Some particularly good returning by Djoko against powerful, wide serves that he doesn't just put back in play, but gets back quite firmly too. Murray has similar returns, but against less challenging serves
Second serve points won - Djoko 60%, Murray 31% speaks to how the two stack up in play
Much of play is closed court ball bashing. Djoko usually hits harder and deeper. By his standard, not particularly deep. And he's more consistent. How much and for what reason varies a bit. For most of match, Murray's remains well behind baseline and is the reactive partner in the neutral rallies (its mostly neutral, not attacker-defender dynamic) and gets beat down. Other times he moves poorly or just misses regulation shots
Djoko also takes up attacking more, especially with the FH. And misses quite a lot so doing. A full 46% of his UEs are winner attempts to just 11% of Murray's. Not a problem for Djoko since he can just fall back on the ball-bashing rallies to come out ahead. From neutral, he occasionally shifts to mildly attacking with wide shots and moving Murray around a bit.
Murray's movements and defensive play varies. Its quite good early but gets choppy second set onward, with some tired/lazy looking shots. Still, inconsistency in neutral play is a bigger problem for him than poor defence. Djoko's defence is excellent, though not tested much. Murray tends to fall back to neutral when Djoko runs down a few balls defensively. credit Djoko's defence, and the electrically quick way he moves into position for shots afterwards, but weak from Murray. He's essentially counting on outlasting Djoko from baseline, which is the opposite of what actually happens
Murray's at his least passive in final set when he steps up, hits harder and looks to come to net more. It doesn't go well and he's a very poor 6/20 at net, a combination of missing regulation volleys, poor movement and some outstanding passes and defensive lobbing from Djokovic involved in that number
Key difference is in UEs. Djoko has 30, Murray 54. All but 1 of Djoko's and 4 of Murray's are baseline shots. That's in the context of Djoko leading rallies by hitting harder, deeper, playing closer to baseline and turning to attack more (he's +8 on winners and +5 on errors forced) - and the mismatch is clear. Note also very large gap in UEFI - Djoko very high 50.7, Murray 44.4
Breakdown of UEs
- Neutral - Djoko 12, Murray 36
- Attacking - Djoko 4, Murray 12
- Winner Attempts - Djoko 14, Murray 6
Counter-punching as he does, Murray would need to be far more consistent on neutral UEs and defend well enough/have Djokovic mess up attacking to be competitive. He doesn't get close in any area
Summing up, drab, closed-court ball bashing match. Positive standouts include both players returning and Djokovic's defending when called upon. Djoko plays pretty well - hitting hard and leading play, willing to attack but not needing to and smartly enough, falling back to ball bashing when attacking isn't as effective as he'd like. More negatives than positives though, with Murray passive and inconsistent from the back, and wearing a distinct lack of heart on his sleeve through most of it
Stats for Djoko's semi with Roger Federer - Duel Match Stats/Report - Djokovic vs Federer, Australian Open semi-final & Dubai final, 2011 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Stats for '10 final between Murray and Federer - Match Stats/Report - Federer vs Murray, Australian Open final, 2010 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Stats for the '12 final between Djokovic and and Rafael Nadal - Match Stats/Report - Djokovic vs Nadal, Australian Open final 2012 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
It was Djokovic's second title at the event and he would go onto win the next 2 years as well. Murray had been runner-up the previous year and won the pair's last 3 matches. The two would go onto contest the finals in 2013, 2015 and 2016 as well a semi the following year, with Djokovic winning all the matches
Djokovic won 106 points, Murray 78
Serve Stats
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (50/75) 67%
- 1st serve points won (35/50) 70%
- 2nd serve points won (15/25) 60%
- Aces 6
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (15/75) 20%
Murray...
- 1st serve percentage (58/109) 53%
- 1st serve points won (37/58) 64%
- 2nd serve points won (16/51) 31%
- Aces 6, Service Winners 3 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (28/109) 26%
Serve Patterns
Djokovic served...
- to FH 55%
- to BH 40%
- to Body 5%
Murray served...
- to FH 40%
- to BH 51%
- to Body 9%
Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 77 (32 FH, 45 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 19 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- 14 Forced (9 FH, 5 BH)
- Return Rate (77/105) 73%
Murray made...
- 60 (35 FH, 25 BH)
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 9 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 8 Forced (3 FH, 5 BH)
- Return Rate (60/75) 80%
Break Points
Djokovic 7/18 (10 games)
Murray 3/4 (3 game)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Djokovic 20 (11 FH, 5 BH, 2 FHV, 2 OH)
Murray 12 (8 FH, 2 BH, 2 OH)
Djokovic's FHs - 2 cc, 2 dtl (1 pass), 5 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 1 drop shot
- BHs - 2 cc (1 pass at net), 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 lob
Murray's FHs - 1 cc return, 3 dtl (1 pass), 3 inside-out (1 at net) and 1 inside-in/cc
- BHs - 1 cc pass and 1 dtl
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Djokovic 38
- 30 Unforced (15 FH, 13 BH, 1 FHV, 1 OH)... with 1 non-net swinging FHV
- 8 Forced (5 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 50.7
Murray 67
- 54 Unforced (22 FH, 28 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 OH)
- 13 Forced (7 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.4
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Djokovic was...
- 7/12 (58%) at net, with...
- 0/1 retreated
Murray was...
- 6/20 (30%) at net, with...
- 1/4 (25%) forced back/retreated
Match Report
Djokovic is solid enough and often impressive in his hard hitting, while Murray is poor of consistency and passive of play in a one-sided and dull match on a slow-ish hard court
The two play similarly. Both serve solidly and return very well. Play is ball bashing of nature, usually around middle of court. Djokovic hits harder, deeper and far more consistently while also being more willing to attack with wide shots. Djokovic defends excellently often and well overall while Murray's stomach for it varies across match
Djoko lead the baseline hitting in first set - hitting harder and looking to attack or at least, beat down Murray. Murray counter-punches. Missing a fair few winner attempts, Djoko largely tones down to beat down play. The set ends with sole break, ironically in one of the more attacking games Murray plays. Couple of excellent points from Djokovic in it, especially one where he defends with gusto before taking control of point and finish at net
Murray had been passive, if not poor in first set and that drops to poor and error riddled in second. Djoko stays solid and playing beat down baseline stuff and Murray caves. Djoko has break point for the bagel, but misses an attacking return. Murray not only holds, but breaks to love to follow before Djoko breaks again to wrap up the set
Third set is best of bunch, though coloured by Murray looking like a frustrated dying duck. He breaks to open but plays a very poor game ending with an OH miss to be broken back. Djoko breaks again next chance in an 18 point game, ending with a great BH dtl pass winner after being on the defensive all point. Murray breaks back at once - and consolidates after saving 2 more break points. From 3-3, Djoko wins next 3 games. Murray hits harder and looks to step up more and come to net in this set, while also appearing tired enough to not move well and miss regulation shots. His play is probably at its best, but contrasts with whiney behavior. Curiously, Djoko wins just 10/21 first serve points but 7/9 second in the set. Some great defensive play from him in particular in the set
Serve, Return & Play
Just solid serving from both, while the returning is excellent. Djoko's large superiority in play is key, not the serve-return complex
As such, he doesn't go for much on the serve and lands 67% first serves in. Murray is just 53% - and that's with holding back on the big serve most of the time. He needs to, to get a higher lot in since he's winning just 31% second serve points, but 53% in while holding back is particularly low
Terrific 80% return rate by Murray, while Djoko is still good 73%. Both return firmly in a way that server would need to actively be looking to seize control of point. Djoko gets a higher lot deep to baseline or particularly powerfully to put Murray on defensive, but that's the exception not the norm. Some particularly good returning by Djoko against powerful, wide serves that he doesn't just put back in play, but gets back quite firmly too. Murray has similar returns, but against less challenging serves
Second serve points won - Djoko 60%, Murray 31% speaks to how the two stack up in play
Much of play is closed court ball bashing. Djoko usually hits harder and deeper. By his standard, not particularly deep. And he's more consistent. How much and for what reason varies a bit. For most of match, Murray's remains well behind baseline and is the reactive partner in the neutral rallies (its mostly neutral, not attacker-defender dynamic) and gets beat down. Other times he moves poorly or just misses regulation shots
Djoko also takes up attacking more, especially with the FH. And misses quite a lot so doing. A full 46% of his UEs are winner attempts to just 11% of Murray's. Not a problem for Djoko since he can just fall back on the ball-bashing rallies to come out ahead. From neutral, he occasionally shifts to mildly attacking with wide shots and moving Murray around a bit.
Murray's movements and defensive play varies. Its quite good early but gets choppy second set onward, with some tired/lazy looking shots. Still, inconsistency in neutral play is a bigger problem for him than poor defence. Djoko's defence is excellent, though not tested much. Murray tends to fall back to neutral when Djoko runs down a few balls defensively. credit Djoko's defence, and the electrically quick way he moves into position for shots afterwards, but weak from Murray. He's essentially counting on outlasting Djoko from baseline, which is the opposite of what actually happens
Murray's at his least passive in final set when he steps up, hits harder and looks to come to net more. It doesn't go well and he's a very poor 6/20 at net, a combination of missing regulation volleys, poor movement and some outstanding passes and defensive lobbing from Djokovic involved in that number
Key difference is in UEs. Djoko has 30, Murray 54. All but 1 of Djoko's and 4 of Murray's are baseline shots. That's in the context of Djoko leading rallies by hitting harder, deeper, playing closer to baseline and turning to attack more (he's +8 on winners and +5 on errors forced) - and the mismatch is clear. Note also very large gap in UEFI - Djoko very high 50.7, Murray 44.4
Breakdown of UEs
- Neutral - Djoko 12, Murray 36
- Attacking - Djoko 4, Murray 12
- Winner Attempts - Djoko 14, Murray 6
Counter-punching as he does, Murray would need to be far more consistent on neutral UEs and defend well enough/have Djokovic mess up attacking to be competitive. He doesn't get close in any area
Summing up, drab, closed-court ball bashing match. Positive standouts include both players returning and Djokovic's defending when called upon. Djoko plays pretty well - hitting hard and leading play, willing to attack but not needing to and smartly enough, falling back to ball bashing when attacking isn't as effective as he'd like. More negatives than positives though, with Murray passive and inconsistent from the back, and wearing a distinct lack of heart on his sleeve through most of it
Stats for Djoko's semi with Roger Federer - Duel Match Stats/Report - Djokovic vs Federer, Australian Open semi-final & Dubai final, 2011 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Stats for '10 final between Murray and Federer - Match Stats/Report - Federer vs Murray, Australian Open final, 2010 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Stats for the '12 final between Djokovic and and Rafael Nadal - Match Stats/Report - Djokovic vs Nadal, Australian Open final 2012 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
