London: Andy Murray defeated World No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the final of The Championships on Sunday to become the first British male champion for 77 years since Fred Perry won the trophy at All England Club in 1936.
Murray won his second Grand Slam championship, adding to his 2012 US Open triumph. His US Open victory last year had ended Great Britain’s 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam champion. Murray had lost to Roger Federer in the final in 2012.
"It feels slightly different to last year," joked Murray on court. "Last year was one of the toughest moments of my career. It was a tough match and an unbelievably long final game. I don't know how I managed to come through. I'm just so glad.
"I understand how much everyone wanted to see a British winner at Wimbledon. I tried my best. I've played Novak many times. He's going to go down as one of the biggest fighters. That made it extra tough; I just managed to squeeze through in the end."
Murray finished with 36 winners to 31, with 21 unforced errors to the Serb's 40 and having carved out 17 break points.
Murray, who has played in the final of his last four majors, had break points in the first and third games, finally taking a 2-1 lead. Djokovic came back strong to make it 2-2 but Murray made it 4-3 and saved three break points for a 5-3 lead. However, Djokovic wasn't happy with umpire Mohamed Lahyani who had called a ball out at 30-40 while allowing play to continue with the Scot going to deuce. The World No. 2 took the opener 6-4 after 59 minutes.
Djokovic, however, took a comprehensive 4-1 lead in the second set but Murray roared back to 4-4, showing a great fight-back. Murray got the better of Djokovic for 6-5 lead and and went two sets to the good at 7-5.
A break in the second game of the third set gave Murray a 2-0 lead before Djokovic suddenly raced away with the next four games for a 4-2 lead. But Murray reclaimed the break in the seventh game and levelled in the eighth with a running, curled forehand off a Djokovic drop. Djokovic was broken for 4-5 before the British star, with the crowd on their feet, wasted three match points. He finally won the title when Djokovic netted a backhand after three hours and nine minutes of action.
