Novak & Andy: The Rivalry, Matches 11-20

Getty Images

2014 Miami Open presented by Itau quarter-final, Miami, Djokovic d. Murray 75 63
Djokovic needed 90 minutes to oust his good friend and rival in the quarter-finals at Crandon Park, en route Murray, Djokovicto completing his second Indian Wells-Miami double. He previously achieved the feat in 2011. Second seed Djokovic settled into the match quickly and put Murray under pressure from the start. The Scot appeared to struggle for consistency on his backhand in the breezy conditions and two double faults, when serving at 3-2 in the second set, cost him dear as Djokovic went on to win four games in a row to wrap up the win.

"I think I was calmer in the important moments where he wasn't," admitted Djokovic. "He lost his composure, I think, and made unforced errors and allowed me to win."

2013 Wimbledon final, London, Murray d. Djokovic 64 75 64
Six months after they battled for the Australian Open crown, Murray chased sporting immortality in what turned out to be one of the greatest days in British sporting history. On 7 July, on Centre Court at Wimbledon, Murray broke a 77-year male singles title drought at The Championships when he beat Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the final.

Cheered on by 15,000 spectators and thousands watching on nearby 'Henman Hill', Murray saw three match point opportunities slip by from 40/0 and fended off three break points with some fearless hitting, before the Serb netted a backhand to end an eight-minute game and a contest that had lasted three hours and 10 minutes. A Briton had finally followed in the footsteps of Fred Perry's 1936 win.

2013 Australian Open final, Melbourne, Djokovic d. Murray 67(2) 76(3) 63 62
Top seed Novak Djokovic became just the third man in tennis history to win three straight Australian Open titles with a four-set victory over third seed Andy Murray. Djokovic joined Andre Agassi (1995, 2000-01, 2003) and Roger Federer (2004, 2006-07, 2010) as a four-time winner in the Open Era. Murray, who is seven days older than Djokovic, also lost in the final in 2010 (l. to Federer) and 2011 (l. to Djokovic). Murray could not convert five break point opportunities en route to the first set tie-break, which saw Murray seize an early 4-0 advantage. He went onto clinch the 68-minute opener. The 65-minute second set ended with another tie-break, but this time Djokovic grew in confidence and won three straight points from 2-2 before levelling the score-line. Before the start of the third set, Murray received treatment for blisters on his feet. Djokovic broke serve in the eighth game of the third set and hit two aces and 10 winners to win the third set and leave Murray in a dangerous position. Breaks of serve in the third and fifth games put Djokovic in pole position to capture his sixth Grand Slam championship crown and deny Great Britain its first male champion at the Australian Open since 1934.

2012 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals round robin, London, Djokovic d. Murray 46 63 75
Over two hours and 34 minutes, a capacity crowd at The O2 in London was engrossed by a fine display of attacking tennis and superb defence in Group A round robin play. Afterwards, Djokovic said, "It was another great match and another great performance from both of us. I didn't expect anything less, other than a tough match that went down the wire and was decided in the last point. We have a great rivalry that hopefully will develop even more in the future." Murray admitted, “The last two minutes of the match were about what decided it. He broke at 15/40 and then I had 15/40 in the next game and didn't break."

2012 Shanghai Rolex Masters final, Shanghai, Djokovic d. Murray 57 76(11) 63
Andy Murray failed in his bid to win a third straight Shanghai title in a memorable clash. Murray edged the first set, which had seven breaks of serve, and served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. Djokovic saved five match points before winning a 20-minute tie-break and breaking Murray twice in the third set. "It was a thrilling match [and] very long," said Djokovic. "Three and a half hours for best of three is quite long. But I have got used to it. Whenever I play Andy, I know it's going to be a gruelling fight with a lot of long rallies. It could have gone either way.” Murray admitted, “I've lost tougher matches than that before and I'm sure I will recover," he said. "It was literally the difference of one, two centimetres [between] winning the match and losing it.”

2012 US Open final, New York City, Murray d. Djokovic 76(10) 75 26 36 62
Andy Murray ended Great Britain's 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion with an epic victory over four hours and 54 minutes that broke Novak Djokovic’s 27-match hard-court winning run at major championships. "When I realised I had won, I was a little bit shocked, I was very relieved and I was very emotional," said Murray. Djokovic rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the 87-minute first set to force a tie-break, which Murray won on his sixth set point opportunity. Murray led 4-0 in the second set, but was pinned back to 5-5. Over the course of the next two hours, Djokovic staged a remarkable comeback. It seemed he could become the first man since Ricardo Gonzales in 1949 to rally from two sets down to win the US Open. But Murray broke in the first game of the fifth set and was gifted a second break. Murray went onto serve out the championship 79 years to the day that Fred Perry had won the first of his eight major singles crowns. "I'm disappointed to lose, but I gave it my all," said Djokovic. "I had a great opponent today. He deserved to win this Grand Slam more than anybody. I would like to congratulate him."

2012 London Olympics semi-final, London, Murray d. Djokovic 75 75
Andy Murray set up another final at Wimbledon in electrifying fashion, with a quite brilliant display in rapidly fading light. He broke Novak Djokovic at 6-5 in each set and save break points in three separate games in the second set. Djokovic cracked at the end and was broken to love, while Union Jack clad fans encouraged Murray to perform a victory jig. “I've played big matches before, night matches at the U.S Open, but it's not even close to how this feels,” said Murray. “You don't often see me smile that much, but all the volunteers and the staff, they are so pumped for you, it's great. This is one of the biggest wins of my career.” Murray went onto play Roger Federer in the gold medal match.

2012 Sony Open Tennis final, Miami, Djokovic d. Murray 61 76(4)
Novak Djokovic captured the Miami title for the second consecutive year. It was the Serbian’s third overall and avenged his 2009 loss to Murray at Crandon Park. "I thought I played a great match from the start to the end," said Djokovic, who did not drop a set throughout the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. "But with such a quality player you really never know, that's why he's right at the top. He always comes back even if you feel that you have control of the match so I am really happy to close it out in straight sets." Djokovic won a long and compelling fourth game and broke once again in the sixth game en route to clinching the first set. The 90-minute second set featured four games that reached deuce, but Murray could not create a single break point. “I didn't return well today, which is normally one of the best parts of my game. That was the difference, in my opinion," said Murray.

2012 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-final, Dubai, Murray d. Djokovic 62 75
Andy Murray became the first player to beat Novak Djokovic in 2012 after he broke the Serbian twice in each set to win in 82 minutes. Murray, serving superbly, won seven games in a row from 2-2 in the first set. But Djokovic worked his way back into the second set, but three loose errors in the 12th game gave Murray a place in the final. "It's obviously great any time you beat the world number one," said Murray. "I just tried to do some of the same things I did in Australia. I was very close there against one of the greatest players ever, and today I did what I needed to, even though it nearly got away from me at the end."

2012 Australian Open semi-final, Melbourne, Djokovic d. Murray 63 36 67(4) 61 75
In the longest ever match, at that time, of the 2012 Australian Open, Novak Djokovic celebrated his status at the best player in the world. Murray fought back from 2-5 in the fifth set and could not convert any of his three break point opportunities that would have left him serving for the match. Djokovic hit 184 winners to Murray’s 161 winners. Murray revealed afterwards, "[Ivan Lendl] told me a couple of nights ago, 'You'll win but you're going to have to go through a lot of pain to get there, so prepare yourself mentally for that. There will be a lot of tough points to play when your legs are sore and your legs are burning.'" Djokovic admitted, “Andy deserved the credit to come back after 2-5 down. He was really fighting. Not much words to describe the feeling I have now. It was a physical match. It was one of the best matches I played. Emotional and mentally it was difficult too. We were breaking each other's serve easier than holding. It was a very even match, from the first to the last point."

Novak & Andy: Matches 21-30 | Matches 11-20 | Matches 1-10