Federer Beats Murray to Win 7th Wimbledon, Reclaim No. 1

Federer Beats Murray to Win 7th Wimbledon, Reclaim No. 1

Danielle Rossingh, ©2012 Bloomberg News
Published 04:45 p.m., Sunday, July 8, 2012
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Men’s Grand Slam record holder Roger Federer overcame Andy Murray at Wimbledon to win his seventh title and regain the top ranking in tennis.

The third-seeded Federer fell backward onto the grass after he defeated No. 4 Murray, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court at the All England Club.

His 17th Grand Slam singles title and his first since the 2010 Australian Open extends Britain’s 76-year wait for a male Wimbledon champion by at least another year. Murray was urged on from the
royal box by British Prime Minister David Cameron, English soccer player David Beckham and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

“It’s a magical moment for me I’ve gone through some struggles, and change in my life so this one comes at a good time.”,” Federer said after the trophy ceremony, watched by his twin daughters and wife and parents in his box. “I played some of my best tennis in the last couple matches. I couldn’t be more happy. It feels great to be back here as a champion,” said Federer, who won the match as Murray slammed a return wide.

Murray broke down in tears during the trophy ceremony as he took the microphone to address the crowd.

“Getting closer,” Murray said, who has now lost all four major finals he’s played, including three to Federer. “Everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon. It’s not the people watching: they make it so much easier to play. They’ve been so supportive.”


Seven-Time Winners


Competing in his eighth final, Federer has now joined all- time men’s record holders Pete Sampras and William Renshaw with seven Wimbledon championships. He tomorrow takes over the top rank in men’s tennis from Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, whom he beat in the semifinals.

“I’ve gone through some struggles, and change in my life so this one comes at a good time,” Federer said. “As we know, the world no. 1, you don’t get those gifted. I never stopped believing.”

Federer, who turns 31 next month and last held the top spot in 2010, will also match Sampras’ record of 286 weeks at No. 1. Federer is the oldest man to win a major since then 32- year-old Andre Agassi took the 2003 Australian.

“I’ve gotten used to Roger breaking my records,” Sampras told the Associated Press two days ago. Federer is “a great champion, a great player.”


History


Federer and Murray are tied 8-8 in career meetings. The 25- year-old from Scotland lost to the Swiss right-hander in the finals of the 2008 U.S. Open and the 2010 Australian Open, when Murray cried during the trophy ceremony afterwards. Murray was beaten by Djokovic at the 2011 Australian Open. Before today, he hadn’t won a single set in a championship final.

Just like Federer, Murray was also playing for history.

Murray had been trying to become the first British man to win a major singles title since Fred Perry won the U.S. Championships in 1936, when Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle Edward VIII was on the throne and male tennis players wore long trousers. Perry also won Wimbledon in 1936 and his statue stands next to Centre Court.

Murray, who left Scotland as a 15-year-old to train in Spain, is the first British man in the Wimbledon final since Henry “Bunny” Austin in 1938. His semifinal win over France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ended a run of 11 defeats for British men in the Wimbledon semifinals since Austin’s success.


First Set


Murray and Federer each got broken early on in the first set. At 4-4, Federer handed Murray a second break with two forehand errors. The crowd roared as Murray took the set with a 132 miles-per-hour service winner.
Federer continued to struggle with his forehand during most of the second set, as Murray often dictated the rallies from both wings and forced him into making mistakes. Murray squandered two break points to go up 3-2, and two more for a 5-4 lead. Instead, with Murray serving at 5-6 down as the wind picked up, Federer won the set 7-5 with a backhand drop volley.

The third set was interrupted by a 40-minute rain delay, and officials decided to close the roof on Centre Court. Upon their return, Murray struggled with his footing, slipping several times and landing hard.

Murray struggled with his first serve most of the match, ending the match with 56 percent in, compared with Federer’s nearly 69 percent. In the fourth set, Federer broke for a 3-2 lead with a backhand passing shot. They stayed on serve as the crowd urged Murray on with chants of “Andy, Andy, Andy.” The Scotsman couldn’t break Federer back.

Federer’s 17th title, won at an age when most tennis players think about retirement, “puts a stamp on that declaration that he is the greatest player ever,” 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Chris Evert, who works as a broadcaster for ESPN, said at Wimbledon yesterday.


England Expects


“Murray Mania” in the British media had intensified with every round won, especially after two-time champion Rafael Nadal was upset in the second round by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. Murray, who lost to Nadal in the two previous semifinals, had been drawn in the same half as the Spanish left- hander.

Tickets for today’s final were offered for as much as 30,000 pounds ($46,485) a pair, according to online marketplace Viagogo. Spectators trying to get a seat to watch the match inside the grounds on the giant screen outside of Court No. 1 started camping out for a ticket yesterday morning.