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A fairytale ending to a summer of sport: Murray wins the US Open

In a perfect end to a summer of British sport that no-one will ever forget, Andy Murray has won his first major tennis tournament and ended the search for a British male Grand Slam champion.

Murray, who is only 25 years old, beat Novak Djokovic in five thrilling sets that lasted almost 5 hours. Murray managed to narrowly claim the first two sets with scores of 7-6 (12-10) and 7-5, however it looked as though Murray was going end his fifth attempt at a Grand Slam in second place once again when Djokovic surged back with scores of 2-6 and 3-6 in the third and fourth sets.

Murray holding his winner's trophy

It was all to play for in the fifth set and in a remarkable turnaround, Murray rose to the occasion and stormed the final set with a score of 6-2.

Murray told the media that his win meant the world and it was what he had been working towards for the last 10 years of his life. He seemed somewhat in shock by what had happened, adding: “It has been a long, long journey to this point, so I don’t know if it is disbelief or whatever, but I am very, very happy on the inside.”

It has been 76 years since a british man won a Grand Slam title when Fred Perry won the US Open in 1936. Murray was frequently tipped as the one to assume Perry’s mantle but a string of disappointing Grand Slam finals had appeared to extinguish that dream.

Many believe that Murray’s Olympic gold was instrumental in restoring his confidence by allowing him to prove that he does the ability to win at the highest level. Earlier in the year, he had lost the Wimbledon final to tennis legend Roger Federer but incredibly, he bounced back to then beat Federer in the Olympic final. It has also been said that being part of Team GB took some of the pressure off Murray, improving his match performance as a result.

So can Murray win more Grand Slams? If the US Open is anything to go by, he has certainly has the talent, the physical strength and the mental fortitude.

Roll on Wimbledon 2013!

 

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