The calendar says it is 2016.  Players are just a month into a brand-new season with hundreds of fresh and exciting opportunities awaiting them in the weeks to come.  And yet, for all the feelings of newness, there is a strong sense of familiarity surrounding the Australian Open men's final.  It might even be considered “old hat.”  On one side of the net will be Novak Djokovic, who is vying for his sixth Australian Open crown.  His opponent will be Andy Murray, a man who is no stranger to success Down Under.  He has made four other trips to the final and lost to the Serb on three of those four occasions.  So the question is, will the result this time around be a familiar one, or something new?

Most people would probably answer that they expect a familiar outcome in Sunday's final.  It is simply difficult to fathom Djokovic losing right now, and an awful lot is going to have to go right for Murray to cause the upset.  It is not that the Scot is playing poorly by any stretch.  He is seeded and ranked No. 2 for a reason.  He does not have any glaring weaknesses, is extremely quick about the court, and with his retrieving ability, he is bound to make Djokovic work hard to earn points.  He is slightly more adept at the net than the top seed and enjoys greater variety in his game.  But he is going to have to choose his net approaches wisely and force himself to be more aggressive against the Serb than he has in the past if he wants to seal the victory.

Then again, there is no guarantee that even a more offensive Murray will be able to get the job done against the top seed, since Djokovic tends to do most things at least a hair better than the Scot.  His return is stronger and is much more likely to punish Murray if he throws in too many second serves.  He is extremely solid off both wings and tends to hit harder and more penetrating groundstrokes.  Most importantly, he is naturally more offensive.  His defense is unbelievable, but he rarely makes the mistake of relying on it too heavily, as Murray has been prone to do.  He is apt to be the one pulling the strings in the majority of the rallies.

Djokovic's weaponry makes him a formidable foe for anyone, and so too does the fact that he is often so clutch on the pivotal points.  He has come through so many tight matches and frequently found ways to escape defeat even when not at his best.  There is a sense that he does not believe he is going to lose, and perhaps his opponents are guilty of believing that of him too. 

Murray is less likely to fall victim to that train of thought, but some small part of him may also expect Djokovic to come up with the goods more often than not.  Murray has only won nine of his prior 30 matches against the Serb.  He went 1-7 against the top seed last season, is 2-6 against him at the majors, and has lost to Djokovic every time that they have met in Melbourne.  Further complicating matters is the fact that although Murray has improved his demeanor on court, he still has a tendency to briefly lose focus and his temper when things begin to go wrong.  He simply cannot afford to do that against someone as mentally solid as Djokovic.

Suffice it to say, Murray has a tall mountain to climb if he is going to win his first Australian Open title.  He is going to need to overcome the most dominant man in the sport right now, along with burying numerous demons from the past.  He has the fitness level to scale that mountain.  He has the talent to flip the script on Djokovic.  But it does not look promising.  Short of getting assistance from a sub-par Djokovic, expect Murray to once again be a bridesmaid as Djokovic secures his sixth Australian Open crown.