Sunday 5 August 2012

Murray exercises Wimbledon demons to win gold for Team GB



Andy Murray rose to see off Roger Federer in straight sets in the Men’s Singles Olympic Final, and thus, win gold for Team GB.

The Swiss was powerless and impotent to the relentless Murray charge, driven on by a 15,000 sell out Centre Court crowd at Wimbledon.

Andy has never beaten Federer in a competitive five set contest, and recently lost to the world number one in the Wimbledon final a month ago.

For Andy, the heartache and anguish of losing in the Wimbledon final is now replaced with jubilation, adulation and a sense of redemption for the 25 year old Scot.

He has little time to savour the golden delights of his singles final triumph however as he is set to compete alongside 18 year old Wimbledon Junior champion of 2008 Laura Robson in the mixed doubles final against Belarusian top seeds Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi. The British pair, guaranteed at least a silver regardless.

A kin to his inner battle and victory, he is the first British man to win the Olympic singles final since Josiah Ritchie propelled himself to Olympic gold in 1908.

The first class display for Team GB in the tennis keeps them third in the Olympic medals table behind China and USA, with an unprecedented 16 Gold medals so far, an incredible achievement for Great Britain.

After carving up safe passage to the final via a straight sets victory over Serb Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, Andy picked up where he left off, coming out all guns blazing, racing to a 6-2 first set lead.

Federer appeared shell shocked, the crowd firmly behind Brit Andy Murray from the off, which must have unsettled the great Roger even just a little.
A string of unforced errors ensued as Andy had answers for all the questions being asked by the Swiss with controlled aggression and critical precision.

Murray looked in inspired form, having things all his own way it seemed, breaking Roger’s serve and winning the first set in 37 minutes.

Despite a strong start from the Scot, he evidently sealed the first set in the Mens Wimbledon final in similar fashion, an air of caution could be observed on Centre Court.

Neverless, what was to follow I can only describe as the very best I have ever seen Andy Murray play tennis.
With dominant prowess, he remained in the driving seat, his strong second serve proving solid as he accelerated through the gears to a 5-0 lead in the second set.
In doing so, Murray prevented Federer from winning a game in the best part of an hour, unprecedented, before taking the second set 6-1.

As per Olympic tennis rules, the 2 set lead Murray had achieved would be enough for victory in the previous rounds, determined through the best of three sets. However, the final is to be decided over five sets rather than three, a rule the viewer would not begrudge on this occasion.

As a viewer immersed in a potential history making moment for British tennis and for Andy Murray, you could feel the tension, the crowd was deafening and on their feet, a caldron of noise, playing every point.

I fully expected a fight back from Federer, the king of grass court tennis for the best part of a decade, winning Wimbledon a record 7 times.

The fight back I had envisaged never really materialised despite the third and potentially decisive set being a closer affair. Murray was diligently better and deserved of the comprehensive lead he had created for himself.

Murray’s power from the base line proved too strong for a lack lustre Federer who cut a visibly dejected figure, it was beginning to look surprisingly ominous.

Roger’s serve was breached once more, this time in the 5th game of the third set, for the final time.
Andy’s superior service game afforded only one dropped point, as he won the third set 6-4, closing out the match in style with an ace.


A straight sets victory over Roger Federer, particularly on grass is no easy feat, Andy did so in emphatic style, and so it proves to be the capture of the biggest title of his career, a crowning moment for arguably the ’nearly man’ of men’s tennis in recent years, with enough talent and determination to reach major grand slam finals, however just coming up short in the final.

Encouraging performances throughout the London 2012 Olympics showed a rejuvenated Scotsman, playing the best tennis of his career.

Former British number one Tim Henman, who now commentates on the BBC’s tennis coverage had this to say:

"What a response from 28 days ago. To win 6-2 6-1 6-4 on Centre Court...he's not only beaten Federer, he's taken him apart. To go from 2-2 in the first set to 6-2 5-0 - that doesn't happen to Roger Federer!
There were tears of disappointment after the Wimbledon final but he should enjoy every minute of this."

Next up for Andy is the US Open, with this new found vigour and a morale boosting display bode well, can he lay his grand slam hoodoo to rest?

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