Roger Federer, arguably the best ever male tennis player, beat Andy Murray in straight sets to win the 2010 Australian Open final at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night.
The world number one proved his unquestionable talent in the first and second sets, but struggled in the third, coming away with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(11) victory.
It was the second time the pair have met in a grand slam final, the last being the US Open in 2008, where Federer had a much easier time of defeating the young Brit, proving how far along Murray has come in such a short space of time.
The third set tie-break gave Murray four opportunities to take the match to a fourth set, but he could not capitalise, and so the legendary Federer showed the youngster how to pounce on an opportunity taking the title on his third championship point.
The 2010 Australian Open title is Federer’s fourth, with the win taking his grand slam title number up to 16, making his claim to being the best player since the games inception less disputable.
But Murray leaves the tournament with his head held high having moved up to third in the world, and at 22 years of age, that is sure to just get higher.
However, he could not hide his disappointment, and just like last year’s final there were tears on the court.
But this time they were not coming from Federer, Murray broke down under his frustration, apologising to his home nation for not succeeding after reaching his second grand slam final.
