Andy Murray vs. Novak Djokovic: A tale of the tape

The Australian Open kicks off Monday, and as has been the case for the past couple of years, the favorites are the world’s Top 2 players, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.

That’s understandable, given their past successes in Melbourne: Murray’s a five-time finalist and Djokovic is a six-time champion. But no matter the venue, the two 29-year-olds have been leaving a huge mark on the game thanks to their epic rivalry.

When the two first played as professionals, as 19-year-olds in 2006, their match went the distance, with Djokovic prevailing in three sets in Madrid.

After that, though, it looked like they would never have a close match again. Djokovic thoroughly dominated their next three tussles, including two 6-0 sets in back-to-back matches, one of which was in the semifinals of Miami in 2007.

But just when it seemed as if it would be doom and gloom forever, Murray defeated Djokovic for the first time in the quarterfinals of the Toronto in 2008, and then repeated the feat weeks later in the final of Cincinnati:

Murray’s own mini-streak against Djokovic continued in the Miami final in 2009. Surprisingly, the two didn’t meet in 2010, but they reunited on court at the 2011 Australian Open final. That tournament kicked off one of the greatest seasons in tennis history for Djokovic, as he got the upper hand on Murray once again:

The following year in Melbourne, the pair met in the semis in a classic, but once again it was Djokovic who emerged as the victor (he has yet to lose to Murray in the Happy Slam).

At that time, despite multiple Slam finals made, Murray's membership in the “Big 4”  (which included Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer) should have been marked with an asterisk because the Scot had yet to win a major.

However, Murray’s decision to bring in all-time great Ivan Lendl as his coach soon paid off at a major event as he defeated Djokovic at the London Olympics, and again in the US Open final.

The arc swung back in Djokovic’s favor at the Australian Open in 2013, as the two once again met in a Slam final.

Their next battle for a Grand Slam crown was historic, as Murray ended decades of frustration for Great Britain by becoming the first man to win Wimbledon in 77 years.

It was a tremendous win for Murray and Great Britain, but as Djokovic started to dominate the field, Murray found himself regularly on the losing side, dropping their next eight matches over the next two years.

Murray halted the skid in the final in Montreal in 2015, then proceeded to drop the next four in a row, including yet another Australian Open final in 2016.

Surprisingly, though, in their second match of 2016, Murray won on clay in Rome. But in their follow-up battle on the dirt, in the final of the French Open, it was Djokovic’s turn for a historic accomplishment as he finally completed the career Grand Slam.

Murray’s level of play went up a notch for the rest of the year, while Djokovic’s took a dip. By the time the Paris rolled around, Murray finally had the No. 1 ranking within reach. He grabbed it after the semifinals and received numerous kudos, including a Tweet from Djokovic.

And at the year-end ATP World Tour Finals, Murray solidified his place at the top of the game, with a dominant win over Djokovic in the final.

The rivals picked up right where they left off in 2017 with final-round clash in their first tournament in Doha. This time, it was Djokovic scoring the "upset" as the No. 2 seed.

Now, their friendly rivalry is set to continue at the Australian Open, where Murray will be the top seed at a major for the first time.

And provided they navigate through the difficult task of battling to the top of a world-class field, another chapter may soon be added to their storied legacy.