Andy Murray has become the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon Championship in a pulsating final after beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-4 7-5 6-4.
Murray played the game of his life as he threw everything he had at the world number one on centre court in the attendance of his girlfriend Kim Sears, mother Judy and coach Ivan Lendl.
After Wimbledon pageantry swept the nation for 2 weeks, the pressure on Murray was higher than its ever been in his career at last year’s heartbreak on centre court.
However, Murray prevailed victorious in an unbelievable match to make history to the delight of the Wimbledon crowd, his loved ones and the rest of the nation and change the face of British tennis.
In the blistering 40 degree heat on court, both players found their feet quickly and produced prolonged rallies in the opening stages of the first set and were locked at 3-3.
As both players threw hammer and tongs at each other, Djokovic’s frustration seeped through when the umpire chose not to stop the game when a linesman called out in one of his shots.
It was a fairly even first set with some impressive shots and trickery until Murray broke Djokovic’s serve in the 8th game to take the first set to 5-3. After the Serb pulled a game back, Murray applied more pressure sealed the first set through an unforced error to take the upper hand and win 6-4.
Djokovic came back into the second set with a look of more desire and intent and he continued to tire Murray to take the set to a 4-1 lead. Murray pulled himself back in contention with some whipping forehands to knock Djokovic off his game and take the set to 4-4.
Both players looked to have tired on court after Djokovic struggled to maintain balance and slipped on a number of occasions. After breezing the 9th game, Djokovic boiled over when a shot he deemed was out went unchallenged because he had used all of his remaining challenges.
After losing his head, Murray clawed back the set with some compelling shots to win 7-5 with an emphatic ace to add to the Serbian’s frustration.
The Scotsman continued his dominance providing an answer for everything Djokovic threw at him and took the lead in the 3rd set at 2-0. Murray looked set to put the game to bed and finish off Djokovic.
However, the Serb found his feet in the match again and quickly brought the balance of power into his side of the court taking the set 4-2 with some heavy long shots. Murray was looking increasingly tired as Djokovic made him work in the blistering sun.
The crowd were getting increasingly nervous as the Scotsman began to struggle. However, Murray powered through and displayed some fine shots down the line to answer Djokovic’s teasing dinks and bring the set to 5-4.
A grueling last game taunted Murray after losing 3 Championship points. But 77 years of hurt boiled down to one moment when Murray clinched his Wimbledon crown he so desperately craved.
After the mist of excitement settled, both players, tired and exhausted, pick up their accolades and Murray held his Wimbledon Championship aloft in front of 15,000 on centre court.
Murray said: “I threw everything I had at Novak and he kept coming back but thankfully it was enough and I managed to squeeze through at the end after that last game which took ages.
“I can’t even remember that last game. I’m sorry I can’t even tell you what happened.”
Murray added: “I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me along the way to win this and especially Ivan who always wanted to win at Wimbledon so a big thanks goes to him.”