Novak Djokovic is the defending 2011 and 2012 Australian Open champion. However, with Andy Murray's surprising play in the Aussie, it's looking more every day like Scottish No. 3 ranked player is ready to be crowned once again. Here are my predictions for the 2013 Australian Open.
Murray has been as hot as the weather in Australia. The two sets he dropped against Roger Federer were the first and only two he's dropped in the entire tournament. Granted, Murray only faced one ranked player, Gilles Simon who was No. 14, that's what top seeded players are supposed to do to their weaker opposition, retire them and retire them quickly.
Djokovic has had a tougher road getting pushed to the brink by No. 15 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in a dramatic five-set match that finished in an 12-10 set won by Djokovic. The victory was so emotional, Djokovic finished the match one Uniqlo shirt less to wear in his next match as he ripped it following the victory.
Djokovic then struggled a bit against Tom Berdych in four sets before retiring David Ferrer in straight sets to enter the finals.
Now, no offense to Warinka or Berdych, but if these guys were able to challenge Djokovic, then you better believe Murray will come into the match with confidence knowing he has a chance to win.
Djokovic proved mortal in his match against Wawrinka and Murray has been dominant throughout the tournament.
His trainers are a little concerned about sun fatigue. Murray played all his matches in the sun and never had a chance to play at night like the other top ranked players. Australia has been an oven and of course, playing under the baking sun isn't too good for players.
However, always a professional, Murray has not let this stop him.
Keys to Victory: For Murray to win this match, he will have to do what he's done in most of these games, hold his serves and break Djokovic as many times as possible. Djokovic, when focused, is unforgiven, therefore unforced errors have to be kept at a minimum.
Murray has the knack of starting off slowly, but with the power of his serve, he can back Djokovic up early and run off to a quick start.
