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Djokovic, Murray braced for a game of chess: McAvaney

After two weeks of brilliant tennis, two men are left standing and looking at the way Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray got to this point, I think we have the two best players in the tournament contesting the final.

The best finals are when you’ve got two blokes who are healthy, in strong form and they’ve got a bit of history behind them that suggests they’re both capable of winning - and I think we’ve got just that.

Both of them have got to the final with plenty left in the tank and are ready to go five if they have to.

Novak’s never lost a final here and Andy’s never won a final here, so who’s the pressure on?

How they stack up

These two have played many big matches against each other, they know each other's games so well, so we will have a chess match on our hands here.

I don’t think there’re too many surprises. I don’t think Novak saw much from Andy in the semi-final that he wouldn’t have counted on, but Andy probably saw a few weaknesses from Novak that he will try and exploit in the final. Stan Wawrinka forced Novak into a lot of adjustments and dictated the match for long periods, making Novak fall back into some old bad habits, something Andy will take a lot encouragement from.

Looking at the way these two go about their business, one man’s strength is the others, in a way. They both have fantastic court coverage and their recovery powers within rallies are quite phenomenal. Novak’s probably the best there is but Andy is right there with him. They don’t rely on big serves so how they approach some of these long rallies will dictate who gets the advantage.

Although Novak has a 15-8 win-loss record against Andy, a lot of those wins were very early on. More recently, in the last four clashes that Novak won, Andy was dealing with that back injury. If you look at the middle part of their rivalry, it’s quite close and they are more evenly matched than I think people give Murray credit for.

Keys to the match: Murray

Breaking Novak’s serve is the biggest thing for Andy. Novak had won 70 out of 71 service games going into the semi-final and his second serve has also had a very high percentage of wins. If Andy can get into the second serve and put some doubt into Novak, he can perhaps unsettle him similarly to what we saw Wawrinka do in the semi-final.

Having said that, the baseline rally is really where things will get interesting. Both players have got an uncanny and quite brilliant way of turning defence into offence. They’re both incredible at keeping a rally going and hitting a winner or forcing an error, so that baseline battle will be fairly significant early on.

Andy’s got a great five-set record. He’s only lost one five-set match in recent times and that was to Novak, so if they go five, watch out, Andy’s a very tough man to beat.

Andy has won enough times against Novak and on big occasions so he’s not going to feel like the can't beat him. In Grand Slams Andy’s got a couple of really big wins over Novak.



Keys to the match: Djokovic

We saw Novak serve and volley against Wawrinka more than he had in the entire tournament prior to the semi. Against the rallying play of Murray, we could see him use that weapon similarly to how he did against Wawrinka in an attempt to shorten the points. This will be even more important against Andy, who he will no doubt be tied up in some long rallies with. The shorter Novak can keep the points the better.

Andy’s serve is another target area for Novak. Andy’s got a second serve that’s very slow, but no one seems to take advantage of it. He’s obviously hitting his spots quite well, but if Novak can lift the aggression against the second ball and really go after Andy, he can really steal some momentum.

He must focus on taking care of his own serve and making the right selection when coming to the net and engaging in those exhausting rallies with Andy.

Coaches

Aside from the two gladiators on the court, there will be another exciting battle in this final. The coaches.

Keep an eye on Boris Becker and Amelie Mauresmo, it’s brilliant theatre in the coaching boxes. The subdued encouragement of Mauresmo and the animated nature of Becker just adds to the spectacle. Plus of course, what will we see from Kim Sears?

There will be nothing in this match and it is as even a final as I can remember. I say get ready for a long one.

Bruce McAvaney is a Channel Seven tennis commentator.

The Australian Open men’s final will be shown LIVE on Seven from 6.30pm (AEDT)

Bruce McAvaney, Channel 7.
Bruce McAvaney, Channel 7.