Murray ends 77 years of British heartache
Andy Murray needed one more point, one solitary point, to win Wimbledon – a title he yearned to earn for himself, of course, and also for his country.
Britain had endured 77 years since one of its own claimed the men’s trophy at the revered tournament referred to simply as The Championships, and now here was Murray, on the brink of triumph after three hours of gruelling tennis against top-seeded Novak Djokovic under a vibrant sun at centre court.
Up 40-love, Murray failed to convert his first match point. And his second.
And then his third, too. On and on, the contest – and accompanying tension – stretched, Murray unable to close it, Djokovic unwilling to yield. The minutes certainly feeling like hours to those playing and those watching.
Along came three break points for Djokovic, all erased. Finally, on Murray’s fourth chance to end it, Djokovic dumped a backhand into the net. The final was over. The wait was over. A year after coming oh-so-close in losing in the title match at the All England Club, the No 2-ranked Murray beat No 1 Djokovic 6-4 7-5 6-4 yesterday to become Wimbledon champion in a test of will and skill between two men with mirror-image defensive styles that created lengthy points and superb shots.
‘‘That last game will be the toughest game I’ll play in my career. Ever,’’ said Murray, who was born in Dunblane, Scotland, and became the first British man to win the grass-court grand slam tournament since Fred Perry in 1936.
‘‘Winning Wimbledon – I still can’t believe it. Can’t get my head around that. I can’t believe it.’’
For several seasons, Murray was the outsider looking in while Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic collected 30 out of 31 grand slam titles.
Now Murray has clearly and completely turned the Big 3 into a Big 4.
He reached the finals at the past four major tournaments he entered (he withdrew from the French Open in May because of a bad back) – and he’s a twotime grand slam champion, having defeated Djokovic in five sets at the US Open in September.
All this from a guy who lost his first four major finals, including against Federer at Wimbledon last year.
After that defeat, Murray’s voice cracked and tears rolled as he told the crowd: ‘‘I’m getting closer.’’
How prescient. Four weeks later, on the same court, he beat Federer for a gold medal at the London Olympics, a transformative victory if ever there was one. And 52 weeks later, on the same court, he beat Djokovic for the Wimbledon championship.
‘‘You need that self-belief in the important moments,’’ observed Djokovic, a six-time major champion from Serbia, ‘‘and he’s got it now.’’
‘‘Just how that last game went, my head was kind of everywhere. I mean, some of the shots he came up with were unbelievable,’’ Murray said. ‘‘At the end of the match, I didn’t quite know what was going on. Just a lot of different emotions. It’s hard. It’s really hard.
‘‘You know, for the last four or five years, it’s been very, very tough, very stressful,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s just kind of everywhere you go. It’s so hard to avoid everything because of how big this event is, but also because of the history and no Brit having won.’’