Australian Open Review and Final Preview | Thebigtip

There may not have been any 5 set matches in the semi-finals of this year's Australian Open men's singles, but the matches were very long. In fact, Djokovic's 3 hour 3-set win against Federer was the longest 3 set match of the entire tournament thus far. Additionally Murray's semi-final match time of 3:46 ranks as the longest 4 set match. My extra long Djokovic versus Murray grand final preview follows, but first some interesting overall tournament statistics.

Australian Open 2011 Review

The longest match overall was Nalbandian's round 1 victory over Hewitt, clocking 4:48. This match also had the longest set, both time wise and by number of games. The deciding 9-7 set was 93 minutes long, longer than 5 entire matches, the shortest of which was Murray's 82 minute rout of Garcia-Lopez in round 3. Other matches that had 16 games in the 5th set were Gil d. Cuevas (round 1) and Cilic d. Isner (round 3). The Cilic-Isner match had the most games overall in a match with 60. This was the 2nd time in 3 Grand Slams an Isner match had the most games following his 183 game mega marathon at Wimbledon last year.

The longest regular set was played between Del Potro and Sela in round one. The first set of this match went to Del Potro 15-13 in a tiebreaker in 79 minutes. The shortest set was Dolgopolov's 6-0 thrashing of Becker in 19 minutes in the 2nd set of their 2nd round match. 6 times a player came back from 2 sets down to win. Raonic served the most aces across the tournament with 94 followed by Roddick with 76, both from 4 matches*. Raonic also served the fastest ball at 230km/h while Isner came in 2nd with a 227km/h delivery.

Punters backing Nadal in the quarter-finals will be furious the Spaniard didn't retire as his loss to Ferrer was the biggest upset of the event, paying $8.20 for every dollar bet on Ferrer before the match. The next biggest (completed match) upset was Dolgopolov ($7.00) d. Soderling in round 4, followed by round 1 upsets of Mayer ($5.00) d. Davydenko and Kubot ($4.50) d. Querrey.

Andy Murray (5) vs. Novak Djokovic (3)

Both of these players have been ranked top 5 for a long time (Djokovic since June 2007 and Murray since September 2008) and both are excellent on hard courts. In spite of this, they've only played 5 times before, the last on which was in March 2009, almost two years ago. The reason being they have almost always occupied the #3 and #4 rankings, and the number 3 and 4 seeds are always put on opposite sides of the draw. However, their lack of history makes this battle even more intriguing.

The similarities between the finalists run deep. Murray is all of a week older than Djokovic and, at 190cm, is about an inch taller. They both play right handed, have double handed backhands and a career high of #2. Djokovic has 18 career titles, Murray has 16. Both played the Hopman Cup exhibition event in preparation for the open and both went undefeated in singles. They both have only reached Grand Slam finals on hard court (Djokovic has reached 3 previously and won 1 and Murray has lost 2 finals) They both have even played professional doubles matches with their brother!

Head-to-head

Djokovic leads 4-3 but Murray has won the last 3. All matches were in Masters1000s and all have been on hard courts except one on clay. Predictably Djokovic won their clay match so they are 3-3 on hard. Not only has Murray won the last 3, but all have been in straight sets and the last two were finals. It should be noted, however, that these last 3 matches came at a time when Murray was in terrific form and Djokovic wasn't quite at his best.   

Road to the Final

Although both have generally won quite comfortably, Djokovic has had the more convincing wins in the last two rounds and he has played higher ranked opponents. The Serbian beat 6th seed Berdych in straight sets in the quarter-finals and followed that up by beating 2nd seed Federer in straight sets to reach the final. Murray steamrolled his way into the final eight, but was then pushed to 4 sets by Dolgopolov in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals he was just one point away from being two sets to love down against Ferrer.

Reasons to back Murray

While it was a long time ago, the fact that Murray won their last 3 meetings (all on hard) should be given at least some consideration. In the last two year-end rankings, Djokovic has been above Murray, but this is due to the Serbian's greater consistency and clay court results. The Scot actually won more big events in 2009 and 2010. He won 4 hard court Masters1000s in the last couple of years and Djokovic only won 1.    

Reasons to back Djokovic

Djokovic has won a Grand Slam, Murray has not. This is a huge mental edge coming into the match. An added bonus is that the major Djokovic won was the Australian Open, albeit 3 years ago. Murray didn't even win a set in his two major finals and this could play on his mind. Another worry for the Scot is that he appeared slightly hurt at some stages during his semi-final.

Joel's Big Tip

In my semi-final analysis I said that Djokovic would be better in close moments against Federer and that Murray would beat Ferrer in 4 sets. I hope I am also right when I say that Djokovic will win his 2nd Grand Slam title here. He has beaten tougher opponents and will be better rested. However the crucial difference is his prior Grand Slam victory and hence steadier mind during important moments. Djokovic in 4.

Centrebet has Novak Djokovic at $1.62 and Andy Murray at $2.30 with Djokovic at $3.75 to win in 4 sets. Simply, follow Joel's tips and bet here and you can have $50 on to win $375 back.

*Murray currently has 59 aces and Djokovic 45.