Andy Murray finally ended Britain’s 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion with victory over Novak Djokovic in the US Open final.
Murray, 25, emulated Fred Perry’s 1936 achievement, winning an epic match 7-6 (12-10) 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2 in four hours 54 minutes in Arthur Ashe Stadium,
Murray – the new world number three – lost his first four Grand Slam finals to share an Open-era losing record with his coach Ivan Lendl, but like the Czech he has triumphed at the fifth time of asking.
And the way he did this was so impressive, because it broke away from what perhaps held him back previously. Negative situations.
In the first set, there was a tournament high 54-shot rally. Djokovic won it. But Murray won the set. In the second set, the Scotsman won 16 of the first 20 points. Djokovic woke up, Murray got negative, but he re-gathered everything and won the set.
Djokovic then came at him like only he can – but he didn’t wither, and even if he lost, this wouldn’t have been a choke. Murray deserved the win and this pattern was reflected throughout the tournament, coming back in the quarters against Cilic and semis against Berdych after losing the first set in both.
Now he has to deal with being a grand slam champion and the additional attention that will arise. As a non-drinking, fanatical trainer who likes nothing more than watching sport and playing fantasy football, you’d think he would deal with it just fine. Surely though the important thing for Murray to address next is how on earth he is going to learn to crack a smile now he has actually won one!
By Duncan Robinson
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