Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray to become only the third man in Australian championship history to win three or more titles in succession.
INDESTRUCTIBLE Novak Djokovic stormed into Australian Open history, defying wounded Andy Murray to win a bruising battle of defences.
Djokovic, 25, claimed his sixth grand slam title - and his fourth Melbourne Park trophy - with a 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-2 win over world No. 3 Murray.
Also the champion in 2008, Djokovic is only the third man in Australian championship history to win three or more titles in succession.
New South Welshman Jack Crawford (1931-33) and Queenslander Roy Emerson (1963-67) are the others.
Underlining his status as both the world's premier player and the sport's flintiest scrapper, Djokovic was simply too tough.
In a remarkable serving performance, the world champion was not broken by Murray in 20 service games.
Novak Djokovic reacts after defeating Andy Murray to win a third straight Australian Open final.
"What a joy. It's an incredible feeling to win this trophy once more," Djokovic said.
"I love this grand slam, it's my most successful, I love this court and this crowd.
"Congratulations Andy, we played so many thrilling matches in the past two years, bad luck tonight and I wish you the best of luck for the coming season."
The Serb is only the seventh man in the Open era to post a grand slam hat-trick.
Bjorn Borg (Wimbledon and French Open), Roger Federer (Wimbledon and US Open), Rafael Nadal (French), Pete Sampras (Wimbledon), Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe (US) are the others.
Taken to the brink in the fourth round here by Stanislas Wawrinka, Djokovic avenged September's US Open final defeat to Murray.
And he demonstrated extraordinary stamina and resilience to overcome plucky Murray.
The Scot wanted a painful match.
He got his wish - and a lot more.
His badly blistered right foot required mid-match treatment and it was clear the Olympic champion was struggling with the issue early.
The Scot has now lost four major finals, including three at Melbourne Park, but he could barely have done more as neither man yielded a millimetre.
Unlike the women's final which was littered with 16 service breaks, this was a tactical war built on defence.
The first service break of the match took almost three hours to materialise and, even when it did, Murray dug in deeper.
It was immediately obvious this was no ordinary final as both men struck the ball with tremendous authority from the backcourt.
Murray struggled with blisters and a hamstring injury.
Djokovic engineered five break points in the first set, failing to convert any.
In a contest of miniscule margins, Djokovic's rare failure to capitalise was not only critical in a set that soaked up 68 mins.
It set the mood for the match of astounding quality and tension.
Murray drew first blood, outclassing Djokovic in the tiebreak before continuing a relentless assault on the Serb's incredible defences.
There is no finer scrambler in international tennis than the world champion, but Murray's ceaseless bombardment frustrated Djokovic.
He repeatedly ranted at himself, pointed angrily at his shoes and jabbed at his knees as the Scot soaked up everything thrown at him.
Chasing history, Djokovic looked out of sorts, struggling to come to grips with Murray's physicality and consistency.
Murray had the chance in the second game of the second set to wound Djokovic again, but could not convert three break points.
It was an unexpected reprieve - and exactly what Djokovic needed.
Only the sixth man to reach four Australian Open finals in the Open era, Djokovic relaxed and became more intimidating.
Djokovic celebrates his historic victory.
And when Murray produced only his fifth double fault of the tournament in the tiebreak - after a feather disrupted play - the Serb sensed his opponent's anxiety.
His instincts were right. It was a watershed moment as Murray stumbled with unforced error and the match was back on an even footing.
Worse soon followed for Murray as Djokovic took control of more rallies, piling on pressure with every point.
Service breaks in the eighth game of the third set, the third and fifth games (double fault) of the fourth set were sufficient to carry the baseliner over the line.
Djokovic hit 47 winners to Murray's 29, despite making 61 unforced errors to Murray's 46.
Djokovic earned $2,436,00 and retains the world No 1 ranking, while Murray received $1,215,00.
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