Murray Makes History

Written by: Staff on 7th July 2013

Murray Makes History

epa03779683 Andy Murray of Britain celebrates defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men's final for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 07 July 2013. EPA/GERRY PENNY |

3 hours and 3 sets is what it took for history to be made. After 77 years, Great Britain finally has a Wimbledon champion. Andy Murray posted an impressive 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win over world no. 1 Novak Djokovic and did what many British men, including Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, could never achieve – he gave his country a Wimbledon championship for the first time since 1936.

Don’t let the straight set win fool you. This match was fought with more heart and determination from both players than this game has seen in a long time. There was a lot on the line for both men. Murray obviously, with the weight of an entire country on his shoulders, was determined to not let another year pass without bringing the title home. Djokovic, with big rivals Federer and Nadal out of the way, was the top seed and was looking to claim his second major title on grass.

From the first strike of the ball, it was clear that neither was going down without a fight. And when Murray claimed the first set over Djokovic, an entire country erupted with excitement. He was only two sets away. But Novak wasn’t going to give in that easily. Quickly going up 4-1 in the second set, it became clear that this was going to go at least four sets. But here’s where being the hometown favorite came in handy for a clearly frustrated Murray. He not only got both breaks back to get back on serve, he turned around and broke again at 5-5 to serve out the second set, where he now held a commanding two-sets-to-love lead over Djokovic. Add to that a quick break in the third set and it looked like he was a mere 16 points away from the history books.

Not so fast.

A visibly worn Djokovic somehow found a little more fight in him and got two breaks from Murray to go up in the set. Once again though, the fans both inside and outside Centre Court give Andy the strength he needs to break back and go up 5-4. He’s now serving out the match – and the championship. A quick lead to go up 40-0 and the exuberance of the crowd is palpable. But a crazy backhand cross-court from Djokovic and two lucky shots later, the two men find themselves even at deuce. Fighting off several break points, Murray watches a forehand from Djokovic go long and that’s it. The match is over. Andy Murray is the 2013 Wimbledon Champion.

Now I’m not British. I’ve never even been to England (though I would love to someday). But I found myself overwhelmed with emotion watching not only the reaction from Murray, but the reactions from the entire country of Great Britain. The Wimbledon trophy has been brought home – and the significance of that is more than probably anyone will ever realize.

Djokovic is humble in his concession interview, noting his disappointment but also acknowledging how happy he is for Andy, because he knows how much this means to him and to the British people. It’s the first time since 2010 that Novak Djokovic has lost a grand slam match in straight sets, so his frustration is understandable. We all know though that while a defeat like this may break some, for Djokovic it will only drive his motivation to do better. Much like Murray’s heartbreaking loss to Roger Federer in the final of last year’s championships, this will only make Novak a stronger player.

Andy Murray is at a complete loss of words during his on-court interview. He doesn’t remember anything about that final game and still cant quite comprehend what exactly it is that he’s just done. He does credit coach Ivan Lendl though for his constant support, and notes that while Lendl may not have been able to win Wimbledon during his days as a player, today’s win is as much for his coach as it is for Andy himself.

Last year’s championship match marked a turning point in the career of Andy Murray. He quickly rebounded from a disappointing loss to Federer and turned around to win a gold medal for his country at the 2012 Olympic Games. That gold medal and today’s gold trophy provide the perfect bookends to an amazing year for the man from Great Britain – the man they now call a Wimbledon champion.

Follow Kristen on Twitter! @KristensKourt

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KristensKourt says:

July 8, 2013 at 12:54 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Murray Makes History: 3 hours and 3 sets is what it took for history to be made. After 77 years, Great … http://t.co/Tr…

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