Andy Murray – distracted, taunted by a hostile crowd and railing at minor distractions – lost focus at precisely the wrong time of the championships and could not deny Novak Djokovic his first French Open title here on Sunday, the brilliant Serb completing a career grand slam in the process.
Novak Djokovic plays spectacularly well to come from a set down to wallop Andy Murray; he wins his first French Open and becomes the first man since 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles concurrently
Neither player found the frightening levels they reached in the semi-finals on Friday, but Djokovic came very close, and his aggression at the net combined with Murray’s lack of consistency and his inability to clear his mind at key moments made the difference over the three hours of a fractious final.
The world No1 overcame a slow start and gradually went through the gears to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Short or long, with ball in hand or off the ground, Djokovic had the better of Murray. He served way better, especially on second serve, won 63 of 116 rallies of four shots or fewer, and was even more surgical in longer exchanges, taking 59 of the 106 points in rallies of five shots or longer.
His defence, too, was rock solid and time and again he forced Murray to play from up to three yards behind the baseline.
There were few takers for Murray along the corridors of the media centre beforehand. The patrons, too, sounded as if they were two-thirds for Djokovic – perhaps because of his gracious and tearful acceptance of defeat in last year’s final by Stan Wawrinka. Maybe his playing to the gallery after each win the past fortnight was paying an aural dividend when he needed it most – or perhaps it was just because he is a damn fine tennis player.
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