By Rohan Sullivan (CP) – 3 days ago

MELBOURNE, Australia — It was another Scottish day for Andy Murray.

The lanky 23-year-old has joked that when he's on a winning streak he is adopted as British, but when he's losing he's more likely to be called a Scot, the nation of his birth.

Novak Djokovic's 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Murray at the Australian Open on Sunday fits squarely into the latter category, making Murray 0-3 in Grand Slam finals and extending a nearly 75-year drought for British men in the majors.

The reaction in the notoriously strident British media was swift.

"Andy Murray handed a vibrant, hungry Novak Djokovic his second Australian Open title today in two hours and 39 minutes of truly wretched tennis," The Guardian newspaper wrote on its website. "At the third time of asking the Scot could not win a set in a Grand Slam final."

The story said he "moved with the bounce of a sloth, served meekly and lacked any of the vim that had carried him this far."

Normally racier than its broadsheet cousins, The Sun tabloid was a little kinder, noting at least that all of Britain had high hopes going into the match.

"We were all hoping for a bit of Murray magic, a humdinger of a final, a real rollercoaster ride," the paper reported from Melbourne. "Instead it was the dampest of squibs for our boy and the millions watching back home."

Fred Perry was the last British man to win a Grand Slam singles title, the U.S. Open in 1936.

Murray has borne the next-big-hope tag since he reached the U.S. Open final three years ago and has been consistently ranked in the top five ever since. He reached his second major final here last year, but lost to Roger Federer, who also denied him the U.S. Open title.

With Federer out after a semifinal loss to Djokovic, Sunday's match was considered Murray's best chance yet for a major.

A crestfallen Murray was offered reminded that Andre Agassi lost three Grand Slam finals before going on to win his first, and then seven more, and asked if that gave him hope.

"I'm not Andre Agassi, and I don't claim to be like any of those guys," Murray said. "I hope one day, I can get there."

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DEDICATED TO SERBIA: In the past, Novak Djokovic has attributed some of his toughness to growing up in war-ravaged Serbia. On Sunday, he dedicated his Australian Open victory to his country.

"There has been a tough period for our people in Serbia," Djokovic said after beating Andy Murray in the final and kissing his trophy on the winner's podium. "But we are trying every single day to present our country in the best possible way. So this is for my country, Serbia."

Fellow Serbian Ana Ivanovic sat in the stands, smiling and clapping.

The No. 3-ranked Djokovic, along with Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic — both former No. 1-ranked women — have focused attention on the potential of Serbian players who overcame war and limited tennis infrastructure to rank among the world's best.

As children growing up in Belgrade, Djokovic and Ivanovic trained at a club that used an empty swimming pool as a makeshift tennis court.

The trio of talented Serbs were approached at different points of their careers to play for other countries — Djokovic for Britain, Ivanovic for Switzerland, and Jankovic for the United States. All declined. Nine-time Grand Slam winner Monica Seles was born in a part of the former Yugoslavia that later became Serbia, but became a U.S. citizen at the peak of her career in the 1990s.

Djokovic also helped Serbia win its first Davis Cup title in December, and has described capturing the international team competition as among the high points of his career.

"The Davis Cup win may have a big role in my great performance here in this tournament," Djokovic said Sunday. "After we won the Davis Cup title I was feeling great on the court, just eager to compete."

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BY THE NUMBERS: If it weren't for the racket stringers, the towel washers and the 49,000 tennis balls, none of this would have been possible.

Now that the Australian Open has ended, the final numbers have been crunched.

Records were set and history was made, notably by 28-year-old Li Na for becoming the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final.

There were 256 players in the main singles draw from 46 nations including big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic, who set a record for having 46 rackets restrung on his run to the third round. The 20-year-old Raonic fired the fastest serve at 143 mph and had the most aces, 94.

Racket stringers restrung 3,492 rackets using 26.4 miles of string.

More than 49,000 tennis balls were ordered for the tournament, and thousands of towels were laundered for the players every day.

Most importantly, on the eve of the Australian Open, top players held a charity match dubbed "Rally for Relief" that raised more than $2.4 million for the victims of Australia's floods.

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Associated Press writer Jocelyn Gecker contributed to this report.

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