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 The victory followed Djokovic’s triumphs at the Australian Open and
Indian Wells and was the Serb’s fifth title at Miami.
He has now beaten Murray in 10 straight matches on hard courts and
has an 18-8 overall record against the Scot.
The contest, played in the early afternoon heat and bright sunshine,
was captivating for two sets but after Djokovic broke in the first
game of the final set, he never looked back.
"It was brutal. Very warm. I was prepared for a physical battle but
it's one thing to prepare and another thing to experience it on
court," said Djokovic.
"It is not the first time I have had this kind of battle with Andy.
As I was expecting, there were very long rallies and I just managed
to play the third set as I was supposed to. I am thrilled with this
win."
Murray started aggressively and broke Djokovic in the third game,
but the Serb broke back straight away and then dominated the
tie-break.
The second set produced some wonderful tennis from both players but
turned in Murray's favor when, at 5-4 up, he broke Djokovic to love.
Following up on a brilliant return of an overhead shot from Djokovic
that took him to break point, Murray sealed the set with a superb
cross-court backhand winner.
Djokovic lost his cool, picking up a code violation for his yelling
at the end of the set that left a nearby ball boy looking shaken.
But the Serb quickly turned his anger to his advantage. He broke
Murray in the first game of the third set, the Scot twice dragging
the ball into the net on the final two points to hand Djokovic an
edge he was in no mood to let slip away.
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The third game of the set was a grueling contest with Djokovic
eventually triumphing when he converted his sixth break point and a
drained Murray faded badly.
After losing to Djokovic in the final in Australia and the
semi-final at Indian Wells he was left to contemplate another
disappointment.
"It is big progress from where I was last year," said Murray. "I am
not quite there with Novak yet, but I feel like I am getting a
little closer."
(Reporting by Simon Evans, editing by Gene Cherry)
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