Much to the delight of the 15,000 partisan fans at the All English Club, Andy Murray became the first Briton to win a Wimbledon title in 77 years defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in Sunday's final.
"It feels slightly different to last year. Last year was one of the toughest moments of my career," said Murray in his post-match interview on Centre Court, referring to his 2012 heart-breaking loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon finals. "It was an unbelievably tough match and so many long games I don't know how I managed to come through in that last game."
Playing in 80-degree heat, Murray took 3-hours, 9-minutes to beat the top-ranked Serbian, grinding through long rallies and squandering three match points before taking the title with four deuces - becoming the first British tennis player to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry did it in 1936.
"The atmosphere was incredible for him. For me, not so much, but this is what I expected," Djokovic said.
Djokovic refused to use fatigue as a factor, after playing a record-breaking 4-hour, 43-minute semifinal match against Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro to advance to the finals, in what proved to be a grueling tournament for the six-time Grand Slam winner.
"It took a lot out of me but I cannot look for excuses in the match two days ago," said Djokovic of his match against del Porto. "It went five hours and five sets but I've been in these situations before. I felt OK."
Murray also admits being exhausted, wanting to put away Djokovic as quickly as possible to avoid letdowns.
"That last game took a lot out of me, really, mentally, I don't even know what to say," said Murray to ESPN's Tom Rinaldi in a post-match. "I can't believe I managed to do it. I worked extremely hard for this and after last year, to come back from that, was extremely tough, so I'm proud I managed to do that. That last game was very very challenging, probably the three hardest points I ever had to play in my life."
The historic moment was so overwhelming for Murray, he forget to kiss his mother, who he credits as a huge influence in his life, when he jumped into the stands after the win - a mistake he quickly corrected.
"I did forget her," he said on his on-court interview after the match. "I just heard her squealing behind me when I was trying to get down."
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