Roger wins at Melbourne to promote Novak to No 2

The world’s finest tennis player, Roger Federer, confirmed his supremacy by beating Andy Murray 6-3 6-4 7-6 in the Australian Open final on Sunday. The straight-set defeat of the Brit has brought Federer a sixteenth Grand Slam title of his career. The match lasted 2 hours and 41 minutes, while Federer showed the world he is unparalleled in the men’s game today.
Novak Djokovic has profited from the outcome of the men’s final, as Murray’s defeat means the Serb has now become the world’s number two – his career high.
Murray will have something to rue in the aftermath of the Aussie Open final, having missed another opportunity to become the first British player to win a Grand Slam event after 74 years and Fred Perry’s wins at 1936 editions of Wimbledon and US Championships. Murray had had a terrific tournament leading up to the final, but faced too formidable a task in Federer, save for a few missed set-point opportunities in the third set.
With tears in his eyes after the match, Murray reflected on the clash with Federer.
- “I can cry like Roger," he said, recalling Federer’s tears when losing the final last year. "It’s just a shame I can’t play like him ... I’m done. Sorry. Congratulations to Roger," said Murray afterwards. "His achievements in tennis are incredible. He was a lot better than me tonight. Hopefully one time I can come back and win here,” said the Scottish runner-up.
The final went off to a poor start for Murray, as he dropped his first serve game to allow the Swiss giant to take a 2-0 lead. Federer broke Murray once more – in the eighth game – and saw off the opening set with ease – 6-3. In the second set, the Swiss needed only one break to double the overall lead. It wasn’t until the third set that Murray began to find his feet and in spells be on par with Federer. The set was as close as it gets and went into a tie-breaker, where it took as many as 24 points to decide it. Eventually, Federer clinched it 13-11 and won the 2010 Australian Open.
The Swiss champion was emotional during the trophy presentation ceremony, but congratulated his opponent on his performance.
- “Andy, you played a great tournament, you need not worry, you are too good a player not to win a Grand Slam. Don’t worry, titles will come,” Federer tried to comfort Murray.
This has been Federer’s fourth win at Melbourne, after the singles titles in 2004, 2006 and 2007, while the Swiss received a cheque for $2.1m. Murray was granted twice as little worth of prize money at the Australian Open for his runner-up place.
- “In the past two weeks I’ve played the best tennis of my life. This is a special moment for me as this is my first Grand Slam since I became a father.”
 
1    Federer, Roger (SUI)    11,350   
2    Djokovic, Novak (SRB)    8,310   
3    Murray, Andy (GBR)    7,800  
4    Nadal, Rafael (ESP)    7,670  
5    Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG)    6,400   
6    Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS)    5,290   
7    Roddick, Andy (USA)    4,150   
8    Soderling, Robin (SWE)    3,375   
9    Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)    3,235   
10    Cilic, Marin (CRO)    2,970