Murray won on Centre Court yesterday afternoon in three brutal sets of tennis in which the advantage swung back and forth unpredictably between the two as service games were broken, break points amassed and lost (Murray being particularly profligate) and the momentum lurched back and forth with stunning unpredictability.
“It feels slightly different to last year,” Murray said to BBC’s Sue Barker on centre court after the match, referring to his final defeat last year by Roger Federer.
“Last year was one of the toughest moments of my career, so to manage to win the tournament today…”
Murray took the first set 6-4 in 59 minutes, and then the second 7-5, coming back from being 4-1 down, leaving many – including the BBC commentators – to say that victory in the third was a mere formality and the title his.
Yet despite going two games to love up, his friend and foe on the day Djokovic turned the tables to put together a 4-2 lead. The third set was the Serb’s, seemingly, the match destined for a fourth set at the very least. Yet it was not to be.
Murray showed how his game – and most importantly his mental strength – has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years to win three games on the bounce to leave him coming out serving for the championship.
Muray took the first three points to give himself a 40-love lead with the three championship points yet Djoko showed why he is the world’s number one, saving each of them before giving him a way back in to the game with a number of break points. Murray’s resolve held strong though and he served out the match to claim the title.
Photo: Getty.