Two 19 year old prodigies going toe to toe at the business end of a prestigious tournament certainly makes for an interesting spectacle, but this was something else.

Novak Djokovic could not have imagined in his wildest dreams that he would totally annihilate his contemporary Andy Murray 6-1 6-0 with a performance of such maturity and poise that it made his Scottish opponent appear amateurish.

Djokovic has never made a secret of his ultimate desire to become the best player in the world, and after backing up his defeat of world number 2 Rafael Nadal with this result, he is certainly heading in the right direction - fast.

Murray's only break point chances came in the opening Djokovic game when he had the Serb at 0-40. The Scot squandered all three points and never recovered.

Djokovic broke for 3-1 with patient rallying from the baseline, waiting for the Murray error which came in the form of a forehand drive wide of the sideline at break point.

With the Dunblane teenager serving at 1-4, Djokovic struck a thunderous backhand return on break point that Murray on the back foot miscued on his forehand going well long of the baseline.

With the double break insurance under his belt, the Serb served out the set to love with an ace up the ‘T' followed by a huge 127 mph second serve winner to wrap up the 6-1 set in just 29 minutes. Murray's woeful first serve percentage was quantified at just 35%.

Things got even worse for the young Scot in the second set as he dropped his opening service game with an attempted forehand pass going wide off a Djokovic wrong footing backhand volley. That was 3/3 break points converted for the teenager from Belgrade.

With Murray serving at 0-2, Djokovic struck a cool as a cucumber backhand crosscourt pass in the opening point and from there Murray faded fast. Two subsequent double faults in that game followed by a Murray forehand that went wide off the let cord gave Djokovic the double break which he celebrated with pumped fists and a roar in the direction of his camp.

A third break of the Murray serve was greeted by whistles and jeers from the unappreciative audience who were beginning to feel short changed by his below par performance. Murray's coach Brad Gilbert by this stage had buried his head in his hands, unable to watch his charge any longer.

Djokovic on serve proceeded to close out the 62 minute match at a canter to progress to a second successive Masters Series final.

"I don't want to make any excuses today", Murray declared. "He played better than me, I wasn't very good. It was the worst match that I've probably played since I've been on tour. He was much better than me today, so no excuses.

"I didn't do anything that could have upset him or messed up his rhythm. I gave him a lot of free points, missed too many first serves, and he played a great match and hardly made any unforced errors."

With a 0-3 record against Djokovic, Murray tried to explain why he has such difficulty with his Serbian nemesis.

"He serves well, he's solid on return, he moves good. He does everything pretty well. He's a very solid player. He's worked on his volleys a bit, and doesn't make as many errors as he used to. That's why he deserves to be in the top 10, because he's worked on his game a lot."

Djokovic who in contrast to Murray played like he was in the zone, was fully focused on his own performance.
"I just tried not to think about him and his game, and performance or whatever he does. I just tried to keep focused on myself and my game and tried to play every point one hundred percent, because I knew that he is the kind of player who can just come back any time. I'm very familiar with his game, so I think that's why I was playing really good today."
Djokovic spoke about the improvements he has made in his game recently that has led to the kind of form which has brought him two successive Masters Series final appearances.
"I think it's consistency, first of all", he said. "I just needed time and experience, and experience comes with matches and tournaments. So I really think my mental strength has improved a lot. Also, some elements in my game like the return and volley; I'm trying to go to the net as much as I can. I'm still not going so often, but really I'm trying to use every opportunity, especially against players like Andy."
Looking ahead to the final, Djokovic is not merely content to be there.
"Since I am here, I'll try to win. Whoever I play - Ivan Ljubicic or Guillermo Canas, it will be a difficult match. But you can't go to the finals and just give up. Everybody wants to win a title." 

Andre Jones

Crandon Park

Key Biscayne