Djokovic beats Nadal to win Australian Open

Novak Djokovic wore down Rafael Nadal in the longest Grand Slam singles final in the history of professional tennis Sunday, winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 after 5 hours, 53 minutes to claim his third Australian Open title.

AP Novak Djokovic holds the trophy aloft during the awarding ceremony after defeating Rafael Nadal in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne.

Djokovic sealed victory at 1.37 a.m. local time and became the fifth man since the Open Era began in 1968 to win three straight Grand Slam finals.

The 24-year-old Djokovic tore off his shirt in celebration after one of the most dramatic finals in the history of the game. He went to his support camp and repeatedly thumped the side of the arena in delight and relief.

Djokovic’s win mantained his mastery of Nadal, who has lost seven straight finals against the Serb since March last year.

In the most devastating of circumstances, Nadal became the first man in the Open Era to lose three straight major finals. He lost in four sets to Djokovic at last year’s Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

After coming from 5-3 down to win the fourth-set tiebreaker, Nadal was up a break at 4-2 in the fifth set against Djokovic, who seemed to be tiring.

But the No. 1-ranked Djokovic, who needed almost five hours to win his semifinal against Andy Murray, somehow responded. He broke for a 6-5 lead and saved a break point before finally claiming the win.

The previous longest major singles final was Mats Wilander’s win over Ivan Lendl at the U.S. Open in 1988, which lasted 4 hours, 54 minutes.

The longest Australian Open final also involved Wilander in 1988, when the Swede beat Pat Cash.

Paes-Vesnina lose Australian Open mixed doubles final

Melbourne: A second title eluded Leander Paes at this year's Australian Open as he and Elena Vesnina ended runners-up in the mixed doubles event after being outplayed by Horia Tecau and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the summit clash in Melbourne on Sunday.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Russian pair lost 3-6, 7-5, 3-10 to the eighth-seeded Romanian-American combination in one hour and 48 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena.

Paes and Vesnina hit 14 unforced errors to their opponents' 20, but their opponents smashed 34 winners, which in the end made all the difference. The No.5 seeds also failed to capitalise on the seven break-points on offer, converting only three.

AP Photo

The 38-year-old Paes was chasing a rare feat of winning two Grand Slam titles in the same tournament for the second time in his career, but fell at the final hurdle. In the 1999 Wimbledon, he had won both the men's doubles (with Mahesh Bhupathi) and mixed doubles (Lisa Raymond) titles.

Earlier on Saturday, Paes had won the men's doubles title with Czech Radek Stepanek to complete a career Grand Slam.

It was Paes' fourth Australian Open mixed doubles final, having won two and lost two. Overall, Paes has six mixed doubles titles, with the French Open trophy the only one missing from his Slam cabinet.

The combination of Tecau's strong serve and Mattek's stunning and powerful ground strokes proved too hot to handle for Paes and Vesnina. Mattek hit some breathtaking winners, especially with her crushing forehand, while Tecau hardly erred on his serve.

Mattek and Tecau made a strong start to the match as they broke Paes and Vesnina in the second game to take the lead. Mattek returned well and played aggressively. One of her lobs and then a winner by Tecau earned them three break-points straightaway. They broke Paes' serve when the Indian fired a backhand into net.

Paes and Vesnina broke back immediately but Vesnina could not hold serve and they trailed 1-3, which became 1-4 when Tecau held his own in the next game. Paes finally held his serve, albeit after saving three break-points, when Vesnina hit a volley winner on Tecau's return. But there was nothing to worry their rivals as they had a comfortable lead, and Tecau served out the set with ease when Vesnina hit a backhand to net.

An early break on Vesnina's serve and an easy hold by Tecau again put them up 2-0 in the second set and the eighth-seeded duo led 4-2 at one stage.

However, a seven-minute break due to drizzle changed the complexion of the match. Perhaps the rhythm of Tecau and Mattek got disturbed and they began to commit a lot of unforced errors.

Mattek was broken in the eighth game and the scores were level. Vesnina served impressively in the ninth game to lead 5-4. The pair broke Vesnina for the second time to take the second set and force a match tie-breaker.

The momentum shifted yet again in favour of Mattek and Tecau following the amazing first point. Mattek ran down the court on her right, just avoided colliding with an umpire, but succeeded in hitting a stunning winner. From there, Mattek and Tecau dominated the proceedings, not letting their hard work go down the drain.

"I almost dove into the crowd," Mattek-Sands said with a laugh.

Tecau then hit an ace and Mattek-Sands a soft drop volley to give the pairing a 3-0 lead. They were never challenged the rest of the way.

It was the first Grand Slam victory for the 26-year-old Mattek-Sands, known as much for her eccentric on-court attire as her tennis. She didn't disappoint in the final, wearing a lime, one-sleeve top, black skirt, black knee-high socks, purple streaks in her hair and her regular eye black on her cheeks.

Tecau, dressed more conservatively in a black T-shirt and shorts, also captured his first Grand Slam title. He has lost twice before in the men's doubles final at Wimbledon.

Leander Paes completes long-awaited career Grand Slam in doubles

Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek won 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 over defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan. (AFP Photo)

BANGALORE: Leander Paes, the 38-year-old livewire, lit Melbourne Park with his sparkling play on Saturday night, to clinch his first men's doubles title at the Australian Open and in the process completed a long-awaited career Grand Slam in the doubles.

In the title round, Paes, partnering Czech strongman Radek Stepanek, stopped the top-seeded defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States, who were on a 23-match winning streak in Melbourne. Paes and Stepanek won 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 win in 84-minutes. The champions, playing just their fourth tournament together, took home $454,500, while the Bryans, five-time champions here, settled for $227,250.

Paes, who thanked his partner for, "putting me on your shoulder and carrying me through this week", added, "I've lost three Grand Slam finals to the brothers and you can imagine how I felt coming out today to play them. Two weeks ago in Sydney, they gave us a hiding. I have the greatest respect for Mike and Bob, who are one of the finest ambassadors of the game."

Paes, who clinched his seventh Grand Slam men's doubles title on Saturday, applauded the Czech-born American legend Martina Navratilova, who was at courtside cheering the Indian. He called Navratilova an inspiration. "I've learned so much from you in life," he said.

The Paes-Stepanek friendship, which was on display through the final, was further underlined when the 33-year-old Czech, a former top-10 singles player, presently ranked 92 in doubles, said, "I know what this title means to Leander. He has won all the other Grand Slams, this one was the one missing from his trophy cabinet, I am glad I was able to help him win today."

If Paes, having finished runners-up in Melbourne on three occasions, including last year, when he and Mahesh Bhupathi fell to the Bryans in the final, was the difference between the four men on the court, Stepanek, seeking his first Grand Slam title, held his end up wonderfully, especially at the net. From the baseline, the Czech, ranked 31 in singles, was relentless.

Seventh Heaven

Following is the list of Leander Paes' Grand Slam men's doubles triumphs:

1999 French Open (with Mahesh Bhupathi): bt Goran Ivanisevic (Cro) & Jeff Tarango (US) 6-2, 7-5

1999 Wimbledon (with Bhupathi): bt PauHaarhuis (Hol) & Jared Palmer (US) 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6

2001 French Open (with Bhupathi): bt Petr Pala & PaveVizner (Cze) 7-6, 6-3

2006 US Open (with Martin Damm): bt Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) & Max Mirnyi (Blr) 6-7, 6-4, 6-3

2009 French Open (with Lukas Dlouhy): bt Wesley Moodie (RSA) & Dick Norman (Bel) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

2009 US Open (with Dlouhy): bt Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) & Mark Knowles (Bah) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

2012 Australian Open (with Radek Stepanek): bt Bob & Mike Bryan 7-6, 6-2

Mixed Doubles titles : 6 (3 Wimbledon, 2 Australian Open, 1 US Open)

Bhupathi-Bopanna knocked out of Chennai Open

Chennai: Top seeded Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna crashed out of the doubles event in the semifinals of the Aircel Chennai Open 2012 after losing to Israel's Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich on Saturday.

The fourth seed Israeli pair came back from a set down to upset the title favourites in tie-breaker 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.

The 34-year-old Erlich slammed a volley from close to the net to return a Bopanna shot from the baseline to enter the final and set up a title clash with either third seeded Indo-Serbian pair of Leander Paes an Janko Tipsarevic or the all-American duo of Rajeev Ram and Scott Lipsky.

In a match that lasted about 90 minutes, the Indian pair wasted a breakpoint in the seventh game of the second set to go 4-3 up, following which Erlich and Ram won three games in succession, including game seven, to wrap up the set 6-3 and take the match into the tie-breaker.

In the tie-breaker, Erlich and Ram took the lead in the fifth point of Bhupathi's serve, when Erlich placed a serve return on the line. They went 6-4 up after Erlich rushed upfield after serving and placed a volley that the Indian pair could not return.

The Israeli pair was stretched in the tie-breaker by Bhupathi and Bopanna, but the latter's weak service returns and backhand returns let the team down.

Erlich and Ram have already made the final of the Chennai Open before, losing to the Spanish pair of Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo in the 2004 doubles title clash.

The first set saw both teams hold serve till the fifth game, when Bhupathi and Bopanna finally broke their Israeli opponents after wasting three breakpoints in the same game.

After allowing Ram and Erlich to come back from being 0-40 down, the Indian duo went 3-2 up after Erlich netted a forehand volley from a forward position. However, the Indian pair wasted an opportunity to go up 4-3 in the second set when Bopanna sent a return wide.

The second set saw Ram and Erlich break Bhupathi and Bopanna twice, in game four and eight.

In game four, the Israeli duo, just like their opponents, allowed them to come back into the game from 0-40 down on Bhupathi's serve. They finally broke them when Bhupathi netted a backhand return to gift them the game just after firing an ace to bring Bopanna and himself level to deuce.

In game eight, the Indian duo was broken on Bhupathi's serve as the Israeli pair went 5-3 up, wrapping up the set in the next game when Bhupathi netted a return off Erlich's serve, making it 6-3 and taking the match into the tie-breaker. — PTI

Sania advances in Cincinnati qualifiers, Somdev bows out

CINCINNATI (Ohio): India's Sania Mirza is one win from qualifying for the main draw of the Western and Southern tennis qualifying tournament after beating her one-time doubles partner Vania King in three gruelling sets whereas her compatriot Somdev Devvarman was surprisingly beaten by Turkey's Marsel Ilhan in straight sets.



In a closely contested match on the Centre Court, Sania, the No. 13 seed, edged King 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(5) while Somdev, ranked 65th, went down to lower-ranked Ilhan 4-6, 6-7(3) Saturday. The Indian had beaten Ilhan in straight sets to win the 2010 Izmir Cup Challenger in their only meeting on the circuit.

Sania next plays American Alexa Glatch, ranked 86 below her at 151, who put out

Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson 7-5, 6-1 in another first round tie.

French Open: Sania enters doubles quarters, Bhupathi exits

Paris: India's Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina defeated the Spanish pair of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1 6-4 to qualify for the women's doubles quarterfinals of the French Open tennis here Sunday.

The Indo-Russian duo will now face top seeds Gisela Dulko of Brazil and Italian Flavia Pennetta, who defeated the Italian pair of Sarra Errani and Roberta Vinci 6-4 6-2 in their third round match.

Another Indian, Mahesh Bhupathi, however, bowed out of the mixed doubles event when he and his Chinese partner Jie Zheng lost 6-4 3-6 7-10 to Australian Rennae Stubbs and Brazilian Marcelo Melo in the second round.

Earlier, Bhupathi and Leander Paes crashed out of the men's doubles in the second round. —IANS

Paes-Bhupathi suffers shocking defeat at French Open

Paris: India's doubles exponents Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi failed to get a measure of Australians Stephen Huss and Ashley Fisher and bowed out 6-7(7), 4-6 of the second round of French Open men's doubles here Saturday.

The third-seeded Indians could not break the Australians even once during the 92-minute clash. Huss and Fisher, on the other hand, were nimble-footed and sharp with their groundstrokes. They dominated the frequent net sparring and also served better, double-faulting only once in the entire match while the Indians had four of them.

In the first set, both teams served strong to enforce a tie-breaker. The Indians had two set points but failed to convert. A superb backhand volley by Huss gave the Australians their first set points and they sealed the set when Bhupathi's forehand sailed long.

Huss and Fisher carried the momentum in the second game and broke Paes' serve in the seventh game. They soon served out the set and the match.

The third-seeded Indian pair had been the champions here twice--1999, 2001. They split in 2002. They reunited this year in Chennai Open in their quest to win the only Grand Slam missing from their cabinet, the Australian Open. They reached the final in Melbourne but lost to Bryan brothers.

After their split, Paes won here for the third time with Czech Lukas Dlouhy in 2009. —IANS

French Open: Paes-Bhupathi, Bopanna-Qureshi advance, Somdev exits

Paris: India's Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi advanced to the men's doubles second round along with compatriot Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi but it was the end of the road for Somdev Devvarman in the French Open tennis here Thursday.

Third-seeded Paes and Bhupathi overcame a set loss to defeat Germans Tommy Haas and Philipp Petzschner 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. They now play Australians Ashley Fisher and Stephen Huss.

Bopanna and Qureshi, seeded fifth, defeated Italians Andreas Seppi and Simone Vagnozzi, 6-3, 6-2. The India-Pakistan pair now plays Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina and Kei Nishikori of Japan.

Somdev, who is already out of the singles first round, partnering Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei went down to Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 4-6. — IANS

Sania falters, drops out of French Open singles

Paris: An erratic Sania Mirza failed to seize the opportunities and lost 2-6, 4-6 to 12th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the women's singles second round at the French Open tennis here Thursday.

Though the 72-ranked Indian lost in straight sets it was an evenly fought match with a string of long rallies. It was a windy morning at Roland Garros and both players had difficulty in serving, more so for Sania whose nine double faults did not help her cause.

Sania hit her groundstrokes fluently on either flank, but in an attempt to go for the winners she could not keep a check on the mounting errors (42), and to add to her misery her double faults came at critical junctures.

Radwanska, the World No.13, herself struggled to find the rhythm but she still managed to keep the ball in play.

Sania, who has never gone beyond the second round in the singles here, could not hold her serve in the first set and the two games she won was by breaking Radwanska in the first of the match and the seventh.

She, however, made a spirited start to the second set, taking a 2-0 lead, but let go of the advantage in the fourth game. The two traded breaks again before Radwnanska held her serve, though not before staving off a break point. The Indian had her chances to nose ahead 5-4, but she could not convert a break point. She yet again dropped her next service game to lose the set and the match in 76 minutes.

Sania is still alive in the women's doubles where she, partnering Russian Elena Vesnina, advanced to the second round Wednesday. In the mixed doubles, her partner is compatriot and doubles expert Rohan Bopanna. — IANS

French Open: Paes, Bhupathi in mixed doubles second round

Paris: India's Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi with their respective partners advanced to the second round of French Open mixed doubles here Wednesday.



The seventh seeded pair of Paes and Czech Iveta Benesova defeated France's Aravane Rezai and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgria 6-3, 6-1.

They now await the winner of the match between India's Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna and Chia-Jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei and Marcin Matkowski of Poland.

In contrast, the fifth-seeded pair of Bhupathi and China's Jie Zheng had to dig deep to beat Czech Petra Kvitova and Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukrain 6-7(3), 6-0, 10-8.

They now play the winner of the match between Czech Klara Zakopalova and Frantisek Cermak and Rennae Stubbs of Australia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil. —IANS

French Open: Somdev loses to Ljubicic after starting well

Paris: An inconsistent Somdev Devvarman failed to consolidate on a solid start and lost 4-6, 3-6, 4-6 to veteran Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in the men's singles first round at the French Open tennis here Tuesday.

In pic: Somdev Devvarman in action

Somdev, who has had a decent run on the Tour this year, looked good to take the Croat a fair distance after the way he started. After an early break all he needed was to hold his serve to take the first set. He lost his way and once Ljubcic snatched the first set, the Indian could not gather himself for a fight.

The start for the Indian was too good. He played fluently to go 4-2 up in the first set and was 40-15 on his serve in the eighth game, but dropped it and soon the set as the 32-year-old Croat won four games on the trot. The Indian, thereafter, was good only in patches and bowed out after battling it out for two hours.

The 26-year-old Indian, who made only his second appearance at Roland Garros, is yet to win a match here. He, however, is in contention in the doubles where he is partnering Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei. They open against Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Feliciano Lopez.

Somdev dictated the rallies in the first few games of the match, producing some stunning groundstrokes from the backcourt off the backhand. So solid was he from the basline that he forced Ljubicic to charge the net to cut off the rallies.

It was Somdev's forhand that let him down when he was serving 40-15 in the eighth game. Ljubicic, semifinalist here in 2006, swiftly grabbed the opportunity and breaking the Indian a second time in the tenth game, he went a set up.

From then on, Ljubicic's serve was spotless, he didn't commit a single double fault in the entire match and didn't drop his serve in the remaining two sets. It took him just 29 minutes to pocket the second set, breaking Somdev in the eighth game.

In the decider, the Indian did well to hang on in the marathon first game that went for six deuces, but a forehand error undid all his hard work of 14 minutes.

A break up, Ljubcic only stepped on the gas and the hapless Indian simply went through the motions.

The Croat now plays the winner of the match between 24th seed Sam Querrey of the US and Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber. —IANS

French Open: Paes-Bhupathi seeded 3rd, Bopanna-Qureshi 5th

Paris: India's Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have been seeded third in the French Open tennis men's doubles and face Germany's Tommy Haas and Philipp Petzschner in the first round.


Mahesh Bhupathi (left) and Leander Paes

India's Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Quereshi have got the fifth seeding. They take on Italians Andreas Seppi and Simone Vagnozzi.

Also in the fray is Somdev Devvarman, who is partnering Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei. They open against Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Feliciano Lopez.

In the women's doubles, India's Sania Mirza and Russia's Elena Vesnina are seventh-seeded and they begin their campaign against Russians Vera Dushevina and Ekaterina Makarova. —IANS

French Open: Sania enters second round with convincing win

Paris: Sania Mirza hardly broke sweat during her 6-3, 6-3 first round victory over Germany's Kristina Barrois in the French Open women's singles here Monday.

Sania Mirza in action

The 72nd-ranked Indian, in her four singles appearance here, had only once crossed the first hurdle in 2007.

She was in a sublime touch against her World No.73 opponent. The 24-year-old Indian was strong on both the flanks and her groundstrokes had the punch to leave Barrois scurrying to corners.

Sania also had a better first serve percentage of 77 as compared to Barrois' 57. The Indian's seven double faults were the only blip in her otherwise convincing performance.

She raced away with the first set in 34 minutes, breaking the German in the fourth and the eighth game.

The Indian carried the momentum in the second round and with a superb forehand down the line broke Barrois in the third game. She, however, squandered the advantage in the sixth game but broke back immediately to nose ahead.

A backhand error by Barrois in the ninth game gave Sania two match points and she sealed the set and the match with a backhand down the line.

Sania will next play the winner of the match between Austria's Patricia Mayr-Achleitner and 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. —IANS

Bopanna reaches career-high doubles ranking

India's Rohan Bopanna gained two places to reach his career high doubles rankings of 12 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) charts Monday.

Bopanna's doubles partner Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, however, is unchanged at the 11th place.

India's doubles exponents Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Peas are static at fifth and seventh position.

In the men's singles, Somdev Devvarman has maintained his last week's ranking of 71, which is also his career best.

In the women's singles, Sania Mirza dropped three places to 76. —IANS

Sania out of singles, advances in doubles of Charleston event

Indian qualifier Sania Mirza bowed out of the singles event of the WTA Family Circle Cup but advanced to the doubles semifinals along with Elena Vesnina. Sania's brilliant singles run ended with a 6-2 2-6 2-6 quarter-final defeat against Chinese 11th seed Peng Shuai at the USD 721,000 hard court tournament.

In the one-hour 33 minutes contest, first service played a huge role in the outcome of the match as the Chinese raised the level of the game by a few notches after losing the first set. Sania could not convert any of the two break chances and dropped her own serve twice to let Peng stretch the match to the decisive third set.

In the final set, Sania converted both her chances but could not manage a single hold, which hurt her in the end. In the doubles quarter-finals, the unseeded pair of Sania and Elena came from behind to beat Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 3-6 6-2 10-8. In the semifinals, they will take on Ji Zheng and Shuai. —PTI

Somdev-Martin out of doubles event

JOHANNESBURG: Somdev Devvarman and David Martin bowed out of the doubles event of the SA Tennis Open after losing the closely fought quarter-final against Karol Beck and Dudi Sela. The Indo-American pair fought valiantly before losing 7-6(1) 3-6 10-12 to Slovakian-Israeli pair in the last-eight stage match of the USD 442,500 ATP hard court event.

Beck and Sela had shocked top seeds Dustin Brown of Germany and Dutch Rogier Wassen 6-3 7-5 in their opening round. Somdev will now look to do well in the singles event where he has already reached the quarter-final. He will clash against South African Rik de Voest for a place in the semi-finals. -PTI

Djokovic tops Murray in Aussie Open final

Novak Djokovic celebrates after beating Andy Murray in the Australian Open men's singles final Sunday in Melbourne. (Rob Griffith/Associated Press)

Novak Djokovic hit passing shots and looping lobs with equal perfection to overwhelm Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday, winning his second Australian Open title and extending Britain's near 75-year drought in men's Grand Slam singles.

Djokovic's 2008 Australian title is his other Grand Slam victory. Murray has lost three Grand Slam finals, also falling to Roger Federer in the 2008 U.S. Open and 2010 Australian Open.

Djokovic overcame big obstacles en route to the final, including a win over Federer in the semifinals. And this came just two months after leading Serbia to its first Davis Cup title.

"We have known each other for such a long time," Djokovic said of Murray. "It was difficult tonight."

About an hour after his win, Djokovic went out on a balcony on the concourse at Rod Laver Arena and lifted his trophy as hundredsof supporters cheered below.

There wasn't much to celebrate in Murray's camp: he's still yet to win a set in a Grand Slam final.

Last year, the Scot cried after his loss to Federer. There were no visible tears this year, but the hurt may have been just as bad after he lost seven straight games through the end of the first set and into the second and never appeared to be in the match.

"I'll try to keep it together this year," Murray said, speaking confidently and talking about "having more chances in the future" as the crowd yelled out "Andy! Andy!"

The last British man to win a Grand Slam singles title was Fred Perry in the 1936 U.S. Open — more than 270 majors ago.

"It was better than it was last year," Murray said at his media conference. "I thought Novak played unbelievably well. It's tough, but you have to deal with it."

Murray said he tried to get himself back into the match, but Djokovic defended too well.

"You always have to try to find a way, to believe," Murray said. "When I got ahead in some games, even in just points, he was sticking up lobs that were landing on the baseline, passing shots that were on the line. I broke his serve twice in the third set and still lost 6-3."

The statistics underlined Djokovic's domination. He won 11 of his 14 service games, while Murray only won six of 13, and the Serb pounded Murray's second serve, with the Scot winning just 16 of 51 points (31 percent) on his second serve.

Murray and Djokovic, each 23 and born a week apart, are good friends and often practice together. At the coin flip before the match, Djokovic smiled broadly for photos while Murray looked fidgety and nervous.

After the match, the two hugged, then Djokovic threw his racket, his shirt and then shoes into the crowd. But there was no prolonged celebration so as to not offend his opponent.

"I understand how he feels, it's his third final and he didn't get the title," Djokovic said. "As I said on the court, I really have big respect for him and his game, because I think he has everything what it takes to become a Grand Slam champion."

The roof was closed at Rod Laver Arena for most of the day due to 100-degree temperatures, but was opened just before the match started and after the weather had cooled significantly.

Trailing 5-4, Murray double-faulted to lead off the 10th game of the first set. Then he hit a backhand into the net after a 39-hit point. Murray challenged the final point of the set when he thought his forehand stayed in on the backline, but Djokovic walked away with the set in 59 minutes.

"Maybe there was a turning point in the whole match, that 5-4 game," Djokovic said. "I was a bit fortunate, I kind of anticipated well and read his intentions and played some great shots and great moments. It is a big advantage mentally when you are a set up and you are getting to the second set and really going for the shots."

Djokovic held serve on four straight points to open the second set, then went up 2-0 when he again broke Murray's service, finishing off the point when Murray's attempted drop shot was returned cross-court for a winner. Murray had five unforced errors in the first two games.

The Serb went up 3-0, then continued his domination in the next game, breaking Murray in four straight points to go up 4-0 and held for 5-0, his seventh straight game win. Murray finally stopped the streak with an ace on game point to trail 5-1, then broke Djokovic in the next game to cut it to 5-2.

Murray appeared to be having problems with his eyes, blinking often and rubbing them on changeovers and often during points. That didn't help in the next game when he again dropped serve and lost the second set in 40 minutes, Djokovic establishing set point with a memorable crosscourt winner off a near-impossible shot from Murray.

The third set started with Murray's second break of Djokovic's service in the match, but Djokovic ensure that Murray's advantage was short-lived by breaking him in the next game. After an unforced error wide, Murray pounded his fist and yelled out in disgust.

Things didn't improve for Murray, who held off six break points before Djokovic prevailed on the seventh in the fourth game, hitting a backhand down the line to pass a stretching Murray. Djokovic pumped his fist and let out a loud yell in celebration.

That, too, was short-lived, when Murray broke back in the next game to pull to 3-2, then held through two break points to level the set at 3. Late in the match, Murray appeared to clutch his lower back after a low return on the baseline.

Djokovic soon broke serve again and then served it out to win in 2 hours, 39 minutes.

Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 5-3, ending a three-match streak for Murray.

Earlier Sunday, Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia and Daniel Nestor of Canada won the mixed double doubles championship, beating Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan and Paul Hanley of Australia 6-3, 3-6, 10-7. -AP

Paes-Bhupati miss Aus Open title again, lose the final

MELBOURNE: The Australian Open trophy continued to elude Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as the re-united 'Indian Express' could not stop Mike and Bob Bryan from scoring a hat-trick of titles at the Melbourne Park here today. The third seeded Indian pair, which united after nine years with an aim to complete their career Slam, lost 3-6 4-6 to the top seeded American twins in the summit clash of the men's doubles event which lasted a little over one hour.

The Bryan brothers won their fifth Australian Open trophy but it slipped out of the hands of Paes and Bhupathi for the second time, having lost the title clash back in 1999. They reached the final here with different partners after separating but neither of the two players could complete the career Slam.

Paes made the final with Czech Republic's Martin Damm in 2006 while Bhupathi ended runners-up with Bahamas' Mark Knowles in 2009. However, it is a fabulous start for the Indian pair in the 2011 season as they had won the Chennai Open early this month. Paes and Bhupathi last played at a Grand Slam together in 2002 when they lost in the second round. Bhupathi said he would continue playing with Paes in the remaining season.

"There is a reason why Mike and Bob are number one team. When they have a first serve percentage of 83, it is impossible to beat them. I thank my partner (Paes), it took the best team in the planet to stop this train. Looking forward to playing with you a lot more this year," Bhupathi said. In today's final, the Bryan brothers dominated as they served well and were miser on the unforced errors' count but had the Indians converted the break chances in the very first game of the match, it might have been different.

Left-handed Bob served extremely well after being down 0-40 to lead 3-2 on serve. The sixth game, in which the two pairs played a stunning 20-shot rally, turned the tide in favor of the defending champions as the Americans converted their first of the two break chances off Paes' serve. It was easy for the Americans from there on as Bob served out the set after just 29 minutes of play.

The Indian duo did well to save a break point in the fifth game of the second set but Bhupathi dropped his serve in the ninth game to hand the Americans the advantage. Bob served out the set, match and the championship in the next game after saving another break point. -PTI

Australian Open: Bopanna loses in first round of mixed doubles

MELBOURNE: India's Rohan Bopanna and China's Zi Yan lost to third seeds Maria Kirilenko of Russia and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 6-7 (3), 6-3 in the first round of mixed doubles at the Australian Open on Sunday.

The other two Indians Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi made it to the second round of the mixed doubles with their respective partners on Saturday.

Bhupathi and Australian Anastasia Rodionova defeated German Andrea Petkovic and Mariusz Fyrstenberg of Poland 6-2, 6-2. They will now face Sara Errani of Italy and David Marrero of Spain.

Paes and Cara Black of Zimbabwe came through a tough match against Alisa Kleybanova of Russia and Max Mirnyi of Belarus 7-6 (2), 4-6, 12-10. They will take on Chinese Taipei's Chan Yung-Jan and Australian Paul Hanley in the second round. -IANS

Somdev, Sania's ouster end India's Aus Open singles campaign

MELBOURNE: India's campaign in both men's and women's singles event in the Australian Open ended on a sour note with Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza going down fighting in their respective first round matches here today. While, Somdev went down fighting to Tommy Robredo of Spain in straight sets 6-7(4) 3-6 4-6, Sania managed to bag a set before losing 7-5 3-6 1-6 to former World No 1 and winner of seven Grand Slams Justine Henin-Hardenneof Belgium.

In pic: Sania Mirza lost Australian Open Singles first round

Somdev, who was handed a wildcard after his impressive performance last year, posed some threat to the world no 52 Robredo, who was once ranked as high as number 5, but eventually failed to sustain in a contest that lasted two hours and 37 minutes. On the other hand, the 24-year-old Sania, who booked a berth in the women's singles main draw of the Australian Open only after going through a tough qualifying route, gave Henin a run for her money. Henin had to draw all her trademark fighting spirit to avoid a disastrous first-round departure from the mega-event.

Sania, during her seventh straight Australian Open appearance, came up with some winners and looked almost set to cause an upset. Having won the first set that lasted an hour, Sania raised hopes of an improbable Indian win but she failed to make any impact in the remaining two sets, allowing 11th-seeded Belgian to come back right into the game and finally steal the match in a little over two hours.

Sania, though hardly had any real chance of registering a win in the first round, after being drawn against a tough opponent in Henin, who on her part is also making a comeback after missing the US Open because to an elbow injury suffered at the Wimbledon last year. Sania, who once reached as high as 27th in WTA rankings, has slipped to 145 because to a recurring wrist injury last season.

Sania's best singles performance at the Australian Open has been third round appearances in 2005 and 2008. She had won the mixed doubles title with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009, which is her only Grand Slam title. Earlier, the gutsy 25-year-old Somdev, who was making his debut in the Australian Open, tested Robredo in the first set, but the Spaniard then brought all his experience to fore to ultimately prevail with a 7-6 win.

Robredo, however, did not have much difficulty in the next two sets. Somdev could not break his first round jinx this year as he had lost in the opening round of the Aircel Chennai Open also. -PTI