Murray, left, congratulates Djokovic who prevailed 6-1, 7-5, 7-6, Jan 31, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Murray contributed to his downfall, a double-fault handed his first service game to his opponent, but the depth and accuracy of Djokovic's groundstrokes had the Scot chasing shadows on the Rod Laver Arena.

To his credit Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon titles and probably would have claimed several more but for the Serb, rose to the challenge.

He had chances too. He was 5-5 40-0 ahead in the second set with Djokovic under pressure before he came off second best in a spellbinding 36-stroke rally as Djokovic roared back to break before clinching a two-set lead despite two double faults.

Murray even fought back from 2-0 down in the third, but his resistance snapped in the tiebreak and Djokovic fired down his seventh ace to secure victory.

"Every grand slam title is very significant in its own way," Djokovic said. "Here, I managed to make history tonight and equal Roy Emerson's six Australian Open titles.

"I'm honored to be mentioned alongside legends of our sport."