Djokovic–Murray rivalry


The Djokovic–Murray rivalry is a rivalry between two professional tennis players, Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Andy Murray of the United Kingdom. They have met 36 times, and Djokovic leads 25–11. They have met in 19 tour finals, including seven at Grand Slam tournaments, where Djokovic leads 11–8. The seven Grand Slam tournament finals the two have met in were the 2011 Australian Open, in which Djokovic won in three sets; the 2012 US Open, where Murray defeated Djokovic in a record-equalizing match almost five hours long to claim his maiden Grand Slam title; the 2013 Australian Open, with Djokovic prevailing in four sets; the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, where Murray won in straight sets; the 2015 Australian Open and 2016 Australian Open, with Djokovic again prevailing in four and three sets, respectively; and the 2016 French Open, where Djokovic completed his Career Grand Slam with a four-set victory. Djokovic leads 5–1 in their matches on clay, Murray has won both their matches on grass, and Djokovic leads on hard courts, 20–8. The rivalry began highly competitive and remained so for many years. However, since Murray won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic has taken a commanding lead, winning 14 of their last 17 encounters.
The two are almost the same age, Murray being a week older than Djokovic. They went to training camp together, and as juniors, Murray won the first match they played together. The rivalry has become an important part of both men's careers. Between May and August 2013, they reigned as the two highest-ranked male players in the world, with Djokovic having held onto the top spot since November 2012, and Murray having reclaimed the No. 2 ranking in May 2013 before relinquishing it to Rafael Nadal in August the same year. Between May 2016 and June 2017, they were again number 1 and 2 in ATP rankings with Murray having claimed the top spot in November 2016, and Djokovic being the number two player. They finished both 2015 and 2016 as the top 2 players in the world.

Notable matches

2006 Madrid Masters round of 16

This was the first professional match Murray and Djokovic played together, in the round of 16 at the ATP 1000 Madrid Masters in 2006. This was the first of 20 matches at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments the two would play, with Djokovic being the eventual winner in three sets.

2008 Cincinnati Masters final

Notable for being the first final the two played professionally, at the 2008 Western & Southern Open. This was Murray's first ATP 1000 final, and Djokovic's 6th in total. Murray beat Djokovic in straight sets, both completed in tiebreaks, to claim his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

2011 Australian Open final

Murray and Djokovic played their first 7 professional matches at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, and didn't meet in a Grand Slam tournament until the 2011 Australian Open in the final. Djokovic beat Murray in straight sets to win his second Australian Open title in just over 2 and a half hours.

2011 Italian Open semi-final

This was their second professional meeting on clay. Djokovic was dominant in the first set, breaking Murray three times and winning it 6–1. Murray then held his serve and broke Djokovic once to win the second set 6 games to 3. Djokovic then rallied to a 3 to 1 lead in the deciding set but Murray rallied back to serve for the match at 5 games to 4, giving him the chance to inflict Djokovic's first defeat of the year with Djokovic entering the match with a 38 match winning streak from the previous year. However, two double faults from Murray allowed Djokovic to break back and win the match after a deciding tiebreak.

2012 Australian Open semi-final

Djokovic and Murray met each other in the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2012, which was one of the longest and closest fought matches the two have ever played, at 4 hours and 50 minutes long. Murray took a two sets to one lead in the third set, before Djokovic came back in the last two, claiming victory in five sets. Djokovic later went on to defend his title against Rafael Nadal.

2012 US Open final

This was the second Grand Slam final the two played, and the first time the two had met at Flushing Meadows. After a 4-hour, 54 minute long final, Murray defeated Djokovic to claim his first ever major title, making him the first British man to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936. Murray claimed the first two sets, the first in a 24-minute tiebreak, and the second by 7 games to 5 after being 4–0 up at one point, before Djokovic levelled the scoring to take the match into a deciding fifth set, in which Murray regained his prior momentum and emerged victorious. This match equals the record set by Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander as the longest US Open final in history, as well as the second longest major final in the Open Era, behind the 2012 Australian Open final. It also featured the longest ever tie-break in a US Open final, with a 12–10 final score in the first set.

2012 Shanghai Masters final

This was the first meeting between the two players in any match since the 2012 US Open final. Andy Murray was the two-time defending champion in Shanghai and was going for his third successive title, whilst Novak Djokovic had just won the China Open the previous week. Andy Murray took a close first set before the second set went to a tiebreak. Murray had five championship points but Djokovic saved them all to win the tiebreak 13–11 before going on to win the final set and deny Murray his third successive Shanghai Masters title.

2013 Australian Open final

This was the second time that Djokovic and Murray had met in an Australian Open final. Djokovic was the two-time defending champion, while Murray looked to win his 2nd consecutive Grand Slam. Murray was coming off an exhausting five-set win over Roger Federer in the semifinals, while Djokovic breezed to an easy 89 minute, straight sets victory over David Ferrer. The first set was a tightly contested one. Djokovic had 5 break points, but failed to convert any of them, as Murray won the 1st set. Murray and Djokovic again went to a tiebreak in the next set, but Djokovic capitalized on a key double fault by Murray to win the 2nd set. The first two sets lasted a combined 2 hours and 13 minutes. But then it was all Djokovic from there, and he won in four sets, becoming the first man in the Open era to win 3 straight Australian Open championships. The trophy was presented to him by former Australian Open winner Andre Agassi, whose record of four Australian Open titles overall Djokovic had matched.

2013 Wimbledon final

Just 12 months after his loss to Roger Federer at the previous year's tournament, Murray made it through to his second consecutive final at Wimbledon, where he would face Djokovic in the fourth Grand Slam final between the two. This meant that Murray and Djokovic had contested three out of four Grand Slam finals dating back to the 2012 US Open. Murray had to fight back from a break down in both the second and third sets, ultimately winning the last 4 games of the match after being down by 4 games to 2. Leading by two sets and 5 games to 4 in the third, Murray raced into a 40–0 lead in the final game, gaining three championship points. However, not to be outdone, Djokovic fought back strongly, first to deuce, after which he held three separate break point opportunities. Murray managed to save each of these, before Djokovic hit the ball into the net twice to hand Murray the title, the first by any British man since Fred Perry in 1936. The straight sets victory meant Murray tied Djokovic at 2 wins each in Grand Slam finals, leading by 5 to 4 in their total finals head-to-head. In addition, the loss marked the first time in 80 Grand Slam matches that Djokovic had failed to win a set, his previous straight sets defeat coming against Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in 2010. In the trophy ceremony immediately after the final, Murray said in his speech that the final game was "the toughest I've ever had to play in my career", and that his concentration was so high during the closing minutes of the match. Djokovic conceded that Murray was the better player on the day, and that he "absolutely deserved to win today".

2014 US Open quarterfinal

This was the second time the two have met at the US Open. The first two sets were tightly contested with Djokovic taking the first set and Murray taking the second, both in tiebreaks after Murray made comebacks when down 4 games to 1 in the first set and 3 games to 1 in the second set. However, Murray's fitness dropped in the third set with stiffness in his back and hips, allowing Djokovic to break Murray twice and take the third set 6 games to 2. Both players held their serve in the fourth set until Djokovic broke Murray's serve when leading 5 games to 4, winning the match in four sets and advancing onto the semifinals. This loss to Djokovic resulted in Murray dropping out of the top 10 for the first time since 2008.

2015 Australian Open final

This was the third time that Djokovic and Murray had met in an Australian Open final. Djokovic was the four-time champion, while Murray made his 4th Australian Open final. Djokovic was coming off an exhausting five-set win over Stanislas Wawrinka in the semifinals, while Murray beat Tomas Berdych in 4 sets. The first two sets were tightly contested ones. Djokovic took the first set in a tiebreak as a Murray backhand sailed long. In the second set, Murray made the push taking the set in a tiebreak, after failing to convert a set point earlier in the set. After Murray broke early in the third set, Djokovic would win twelve of the next thirteen games, including the last nine in a row, to take the match and the championship in four sets, becoming the first man in the Open era to win 5 Australian Open championships. The trophy was presented to him by former Australian Open winner Roy Emerson, who holds the all-time record of six Australian Open titles overall.

2015 French Open semi-final

This was their first meeting in the French Open and Djokovic had ended Rafael Nadal's run of 39 consecutive victories in the French Open with a straight sets victory while Murray came off a four set victory against David Ferrer. With Nadal and Roger Federer's quarterfinal defeats guaranteeing a first time champion at the tournament, both players each had winning streaks entering the match, Djokovic had a 27 match winning streak while Murray had a 15 match winning streak on Clay. Djokovic broke Murray's serve once to win the first set and then broke Murray twice in the second set for a two set to love lead. However, despite Djokovic having break points in the third set for a possible straight sets victory, Murray battled back and broke Djokovic's serve at 5 games all to win the third set on serve. After two breaks of serve in the fourth set, the match was suspended for the day at 3 games all due to an approaching thunderstorm. The match then resumed the following day and Murray again broke Djokovic's serve at 5 games all and closed the set on serve to take it into a fifth set. However, with the match being similar to their one in the 2012 US Open, Djokovic won the fifth set comfortably, winning 6 of the last 7 games to reach his third final in the French Open, ending Murray's winning streak on Clay and denying him a place for his first French Open final. Djokovic would then lose the final to Stan Wawrinka in four sets.

2015 Canadian Open final

Djokovic headed into the Montreal final on an eight match winning streak against Murray, who had not beaten Djokovic since the 2013 Wimbledon Final. Djokovic was seeking his fourth Canadian title with Murray looking for his third. The world No. 1 had also won the last 12 Masters finals in which he had competed, since losing to Federer in Cincinnati 2012, winning Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome this year. Both players started strong, with Murray taking a lead, squandering it, and breaking back to win the set. Djokovic broke early to win set two. In the final set, Murray took an early lead which set up the pivotal fifth game. It lasted 15 minutes and had ten deuces, but Murray held on to extend his lead. Murray had three match points on Djokovic's serve but failed to convert, and he sealed the match on his own serve for a three set victory. This ended Djokovic's two year winning streak with Murray, who rose to world No. 2 again, overtaking Roger Federer.

2016: The battle for the world number one

Djokovic and Murray met five times in 2016 and ended up creating history by taking the battle for the world number one to the final match of the season. Djokovic and Murray contested the finals at both the Madrid and Rome Masters in May; these were the first two times that they contested a final on clay. Both dethroned each other as the defending champion, with Djokovic defeating Murray in Madrid by way of a three-set win and Murray reversing the result in Rome with a straight-sets victory. By winning in Rome, Murray became the first player other than Djokovic or any Spanish player to win in the Italian capital since Andre Agassi in 2002, and the first British male champion since Pat Hughes in 1931. After losing to Djokovic in Madrid, Murray trailed him by 9,025 points. Murray then went on a 58-4 streak for the rest of the season, including a loss to Djokovic at the French Open final 3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 and who completed a Career Grand Slam. In addition, Djokovic also became the first man since 1969 to win 4 Grand Slam titles consecutively, completing the "Nole Slam". This was the first Major final since the 1984 French Open where the top 2 seeds met and neither had won the title yet.
Murray then went on to win two more masters finals, three 500 series events and Wimbledon, plus a further masters final appearance, in his pursuit of Djokovic.
Djokovic and Murray met for the first time since the aforementioned French Open final in the championship match of the season-concluding ATP World Tour Finals in London in November. Of the five meetings that took place between the pair in 2016, this one had added significance, as the winner would finish the season ranked world number one. The stakes were high in Djokovic's case, as a win would have seen him win his fifth overall year-end title, just one short of the overall record held by Roger Federer and Peter Sampras; Murray, on the other hand, was shooting for his first year-end title, having qualified for the championship match for the first time. Ultimately, Murray won in straight sets, ensuring he ended the year ranked world number one, and also becoming the first man other than Djokovic, Federer or Rafael Nadal to finish the year at the top of the rankings since Andy Roddick in 2003.

List of all matches

Singles

Djokovic–Murray: 36
No.YearTournamentSeriesSurfaceRoundWinnerScoreLengthSetsDjokovicMurray
1.2006 Madrid OpenMastersHard Last 16Djokovic1–6, 7–5, 6–32:113/310
2.2007 Indian Wells MastersMastersHardSemifinalsDjokovic6–2, 6–31:032/320
3.2007 Miami OpenMastersHardSemifinalsDjokovic6–1, 6–01:032/330
4.2008 Monte-Carlo MastersMastersClayLast 16Djokovic6–0, 6–41:182/340
5.2008 Canadian OpenMastersHardQuarterfinalsMurray6–3, 7–61:452/341
6.2008 Cincinnati MastersMastersHardFinalMurray7–6, 7–62:232/342
7.2009 Miami OpenMastersHardFinalMurray6–2, 7–52:052/343
8.2011 Australian OpenMajorHardFinalDjokovic6–4, 6–2, 6–32:393/553
9.2011 Italian OpenMastersClaySemifinalsDjokovic6–1, 3–6, 7–63:023/363
10.2011 Cincinnati MastersMastersHardFinalMurray6–4, 3–0 RET1:122/364
11.2012 Australian OpenMajorHardSemifinalsDjokovic6–3, 3–6, 6–7, 6–1, 7–54:505/574
12.2012 Dubai Championships500HardSemifinalsMurray6–2, 7–51:232/375
13.2012 Miami OpenMastersHardFinalDjokovic6–1, 7–62:182/385
14.2012 Summer OlympicsOlympicsGrassSemifinalsMurray7–5, 7–52:002/386
15.2012 US OpenMajorHardFinalMurray7–6, 7–5, 2–6, 3–6, 6–24:545/587
16.2012 Shanghai MastersMastersHardFinalDjokovic5–7, 7–6, 6–33:223/397
17.2012 ATP World Tour FinalsTour FinalsHard Round RobinDjokovic4–6, 6–3, 7–52:343/3107
18.2013 Australian OpenMajorHardFinalDjokovic6–7, 7–6, 6–3, 6–23:404/5117
19.2013 WimbledonMajorGrassFinalMurray6–4, 7–5, 6–43:093/5118
20.2014 Miami OpenMastersHardQuarterfinalsDjokovic7–5, 6–31:312/3128
21.2014 US OpenMajorHardQuarterfinalsDjokovic7–6, 6–7, 6–2, 6–43:334/5138
22.2014 China Open500HardSemifinalsDjokovic6–3, 6–41:362/3148
23.2014 Paris MastersMastersHard QuarterfinalsDjokovic7–5, 6–21:422/3158
24.2015 Australian OpenMajorHardFinalDjokovic7–6, 6–7, 6–3, 6–03:394/5168
25.2015 Indian Wells MastersMastersHardSemifinalsDjokovic6–2, 6–31:282/3178
26.2015 Miami OpenMastersHardFinalDjokovic7–6, 4–6, 6–02:473/3188
27.2015 French OpenMajorClaySemifinalsDjokovic6–3, 6–3, 5–7, 5–7, 6–14:095/5198
28.2015 Canadian OpenMastersHardFinalMurray6–4, 4–6, 6–33:003/3199
29.2015 Shanghai MastersMastersHardSemifinalsDjokovic6–1, 6–31:072/3209
30.2015 Paris MastersMastersHard FinalDjokovic6–2, 6–41:322/3219
31.2016 Australian OpenMajorHardFinalDjokovic6–1, 7–5, 7–62:533/5229
32.2016 Madrid OpenMastersClayFinalDjokovic6–2, 3–6, 6–32:063/3239
33.2016 Italian OpenMastersClayFinalMurray6–3, 6–31:352/32310
34.2016 French OpenMajorClayFinalDjokovic3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–43:034/52410
35.2016 ATP World Tour FinalsTour FinalsHard FinalMurray6–3, 6–41:422/32411
36.2017 Qatar Open250HardFinalDjokovic6–3, 5–7, 6–42:543/32511

Records

Head-to-head tallies

Djokovic—Murray (3–0)

Performance timeline comparison (Grand Slam tournaments)

2011–2016

2017–Present

Combined singles performance timeline (best result)

ATP Rankings

Year-end ranking timeline

Career evolution

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were born one week apart. Therefore, they have the same age at the end of a season.