Only this time, it was ordained that it had to end in a full-on declaration of war.
One man would walk away as the dominant force in the world - and the speed with which Murray dropped his racket to the floor after winning the last point and sat slumped listlessly in his chair showed just how hard the enormity of that status was hitting him.
His 6-3, 6-4 victory had taken 1 hr 43 mins to complete and was secured only after Djokovic had saved two Championship points and briefly threatened to take the second set into a tie-break.
In the end, though, a wide Djokovic return finally rubberstamped the complicated mathematics which had added the extra spice of that top world ranking to an already prestigious title. Murray is the greatest player in the game at the moment.
Murray claimed the first set 6-3 at the O2
Since Andy Murray took the world no. 1 spot from Novak Djokovic in Paris, it had always felt that, with the Barclays ATP World Tour finals just around the corner, it was a minor blow struck in a game of brinkmanship.
Even the manner of his coronation, courtesy of a sick-note from Milos Raonic, gave the whole achievement a sense of the surreal, but nevertheless the clock started ticking on Murray’s reign when the ATP confirmed their lists on the morning of Monday before last.
But truly to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best and last night was Murray’s first opportunity since the French Open final in June to go toe-to-toe with the man who has so often been his nemesis when it comes to claiming the sport’s major honours.
A lot had changed in those five months, not least Murray’s self-belief in tucking 24 consecutive wins, another Wimbledon and another Olympic gold under his belt.

By contrast, Djokovic had been out of sorts coming into the O2 but had been his usual spiky and aggressive self in London on and off the court.
So when Murray included two double faults in a nervy opening game one wondered if he still had some sort of mental hold over his old foe.
Gamely, though, Murray deployed himself as close to the baseline as he dared and bullied his way to the first break and it was tempting to see the tame slap with which Djokovic did eventually concede set point as a sign of submission.
However, the Serb had come from behind to win five times on the 15 previous occasions Murray had drawn first blood so there was plenty of work to do.
Work, though, has never been an issue for the industrious Scot and buzzing round the O2 Arena like a dervish, he immediately earned himself four break points in the first game of the second set.
Three of them Djokovic was able to retrieve – the fourth, worn down by Murray’s relentless slice, he again deposited the ball into the “ATP World Tour”-emblazoned net.
In the end, the match was encapsulated in one single point when the scores were at 30-15 in the fourth game of the second set.
Djokovic ran Murray ragged round the court and stood poised to put away a well-engineered winner. Again, the net copped the full brunt. A stunned silence swept the O2 to be followed by a roar of patriotic belief.
The netting swayed under the impact but held itself together – the same could not be said for Djokovic as Murray went on to break again.
It was now, though, that Djokovic chose to show his legendary resolve. Breaking back, he seemed briefly like his old self anew.
Gruelling rallies now determined every point as the grand slam winner finally began to show why he had been the world’s best player for so long.
At the start of the week, though Murray said he felt that the top ranking had given him greater confidence and now was the time to show the billing was justified.
Yes, he held his nerve. Yes, he held his serve and the O2 Arena got the historic ending that most of the excited crowd had come to see.
It may not have matched Centre Court, Wimbledon 2013 or the Davis Cup final for emotion – occasions which will define Murray’s career.
But as they headed home, anybody would be forgiven for thinking that they had just witnessed men’s tennis entering a significant new era.
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