This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/sports/tennis/after-77-years-murray-and-england-rule.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| After 77 Years, Murray and Britain Rule | After 77 Years, Murray and Britain Rule |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WIMBLEDON, England — On Sunday before yet another men’s final, the fans in their broad-brimmed hats and sunscreen stopped to take pictures and pay tennis tribute to the bronze statue of Fred Perry, which stands just outside Centre Court at Wimbledon. | WIMBLEDON, England — On Sunday before yet another men’s final, the fans in their broad-brimmed hats and sunscreen stopped to take pictures and pay tennis tribute to the bronze statue of Fred Perry, which stands just outside Centre Court at Wimbledon. |
| Perry, a debonair Englishman, won the last of his three Wimbledon singles titles in 1936. But by late afternoon, with the shadows extending across the most important and historic court in tennis, Perry no longer stood alone. | Perry, a debonair Englishman, won the last of his three Wimbledon singles titles in 1936. But by late afternoon, with the shadows extending across the most important and historic court in tennis, Perry no longer stood alone. |
| Andy Murray, a 26-year-old Scot, put a convincing end to a 77-year drought for the British men at the tournament that matters most to British men and their public. Murray did it by defeating Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 seed, without the loss of a set: 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. | Andy Murray, a 26-year-old Scot, put a convincing end to a 77-year drought for the British men at the tournament that matters most to British men and their public. Murray did it by defeating Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 seed, without the loss of a set: 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. |
| “Let’s Make History,” read one of the many signs being waved inside Centre Court on this steamy day. | “Let’s Make History,” read one of the many signs being waved inside Centre Court on this steamy day. |
| And so Murray, long frustrated and even driven to tears by losing last year’s final, proceeded to do just that. He did it by proving better in the clutch and on the run than Djokovic, the game’s premier defender and marathon man. Murray did it by rallying from a break of serve down in the last two sets and then shrugging off the loss of three match points and a 40-0 lead in the final game on his own serve. | And so Murray, long frustrated and even driven to tears by losing last year’s final, proceeded to do just that. He did it by proving better in the clutch and on the run than Djokovic, the game’s premier defender and marathon man. Murray did it by rallying from a break of serve down in the last two sets and then shrugging off the loss of three match points and a 40-0 lead in the final game on his own serve. |
| He kept pushing, kept trying, as so many British men with lesser skills have tried through the decades, but this time the ending was different. | He kept pushing, kept trying, as so many British men with lesser skills have tried through the decades, but this time the ending was different. |
| On Murray’s fourth match point, Djokovic hit a two-handed backhand into the tape, and the final, with that burst of sound, was over. | On Murray’s fourth match point, Djokovic hit a two-handed backhand into the tape, and the final, with that burst of sound, was over. |
| After such a lengthy vigil, it was reasonable to expect something extraordinary: a rainbow, a back flip, a spontaneous, perfectly pitched “God Save the Queen” from the Centre Court crowd. | |
| But the celebration — tinged with relief — bore instead a strong resemblance to many other celebrations of recent years. | But the celebration — tinged with relief — bore instead a strong resemblance to many other celebrations of recent years. |
| After Djokovic’s backhand struck the net, Murray stripped off his cap, pumped his fists and then shook hands with Djokovic, an old friend and rival, before climbing into the players box to embrace his family and friends, nearly forgetting his mother and boyhood coach, Judy Murray, before reversing course and hugging her, too. | After Djokovic’s backhand struck the net, Murray stripped off his cap, pumped his fists and then shook hands with Djokovic, an old friend and rival, before climbing into the players box to embrace his family and friends, nearly forgetting his mother and boyhood coach, Judy Murray, before reversing course and hugging her, too. |
| Then came the on-court interview, where Murray had broken down, microphone in hand, after losing a lead and the final to Roger Federer last year. | Then came the on-court interview, where Murray had broken down, microphone in hand, after losing a lead and the final to Roger Federer last year. |
| “It feels slightly different to last year,” began Murray, proving that understatement extends to Scotland, as well. “Last year was one of the toughest moments of my career, so to manage to win the tournament today, it was an unbelievably tough match. So many long games, and I don’t know how I managed to come through that final game.” | “It feels slightly different to last year,” began Murray, proving that understatement extends to Scotland, as well. “Last year was one of the toughest moments of my career, so to manage to win the tournament today, it was an unbelievably tough match. So many long games, and I don’t know how I managed to come through that final game.” |
| Sue Barker, the BBC broadcaster, told Murray that the game had been “torturous to watch.” | Sue Barker, the BBC broadcaster, told Murray that the game had been “torturous to watch.” |
| Murray skipped a beat and said, “Imagine playing it.” | Murray skipped a beat and said, “Imagine playing it.” |
| He then spoke of Djokovic. | He then spoke of Djokovic. |
| “I’ve played Novak many times, and I think when everyone is finished playing he’s going to go down as one of the biggest fighters,” Murray said. “He’s come back so many times from losing positions, and he almost did the same again today. So that made it extra tough, and I don’t know how I managed to squeeze through in the end.” | “I’ve played Novak many times, and I think when everyone is finished playing he’s going to go down as one of the biggest fighters,” Murray said. “He’s come back so many times from losing positions, and he almost did the same again today. So that made it extra tough, and I don’t know how I managed to squeeze through in the end.” |
| It has not been 77 years since a British player won at Wimbledon. Virginia Wade won the women’s singles titles in 1977 (the sevens were a numerologists’ feast Sunday). | It has not been 77 years since a British player won at Wimbledon. Virginia Wade won the women’s singles titles in 1977 (the sevens were a numerologists’ feast Sunday). |
| But the British men — from Bunny Austin to Tim Henman — kept swinging and missing until Murray finally arrived: a once-in-a-generation talent from the unlikely tennis destination of Dunblane, Scotland. It is a small city better known for tragedy than victory until Murray’s achievements because of a massacre at Murray’s own primary school in 1996 in which a gunman shot and killed 16 students, all 5 or 6, and one of their teachers. | But the British men — from Bunny Austin to Tim Henman — kept swinging and missing until Murray finally arrived: a once-in-a-generation talent from the unlikely tennis destination of Dunblane, Scotland. It is a small city better known for tragedy than victory until Murray’s achievements because of a massacre at Murray’s own primary school in 1996 in which a gunman shot and killed 16 students, all 5 or 6, and one of their teachers. |
| Murray has rarely discussed the episode, but it has been a subtle driving force for him and his tennis family, which includes his older brother Jamie, once a leading doubles player, and their mother Judy, a former professional player who is now Britain’s Fed Cup captain. | Murray has rarely discussed the episode, but it has been a subtle driving force for him and his tennis family, which includes his older brother Jamie, once a leading doubles player, and their mother Judy, a former professional player who is now Britain’s Fed Cup captain. |
| “It’s just nice that I’ve been able to do something that the town is just proud of,” Andy Murray said between tears in a BBC television documentary about his life that was broadcast shortly before these championships. | |
| But Murray is now making a habit of making all of Britain proud, and if Sunday’s final seemed to lack the full-force emotional impact that a 77-year wait would suggest, that is also because of Murray’s achievements in the last year. | |
| Only a few weeks after losing in last year’s Wimbledon final, he came back to win the Olympic gold medal on the same stretch of lawn at the All England Club. A few weeks after that, he won his first Grand Slam singles title — after four straight losses in finals — at the United States Open. | Only a few weeks after losing in last year’s Wimbledon final, he came back to win the Olympic gold medal on the same stretch of lawn at the All England Club. A few weeks after that, he won his first Grand Slam singles title — after four straight losses in finals — at the United States Open. |
| But Wimbledon was still, as ever, the big one, and the Murray who returned to this year was a more settled, confident young man. It showed, above all, in the final, even though there were a few frights along the way: including a nervy comeback from a two-set deficit in the quarterfinals to defeat the unseeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. | |
| Murray’s draw, by the standards of this golden age of tennis, was a stroll, all the more so because the former champions Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who were both in his half of the draw, were upset before the third round. | |
| But Murray still had to deal with greatness in the uber-flexible form of Djokovic, the Serbian polyglot who had beaten him 11 times in 18 matches and three times in a row: most recently in the final of the Australian Open. | |
| They were born just one week apart and have known each other since they were juniors on the European circuit, first playing at age 11. Their games and skills and athleticism are now similar enough that to watch them play is to watch equal forces canceling each other out. | |
| The rallies, as usual, were long and exhausting on Sunday; the territory excruciatingly difficult to conquer; the tactical solutions largely unclear. This straight-set match lasted a lengthy 3 hours 9 minutes for a reason, and the terms of engagement were clear from the very first point: a lengthy, deliberate exchange of baseline blows. | |
| Fred Perry, a paragon of classic, attacking grasscourt tennis, would have surely rubbed his eyes in disbelief at the style of play that predominated on Sunday. The grass, in essence, could have been cement or red clay. | |
| On the court where the serve and the ace once ruled in men’s tennis, Djokovic and Murray combined for 30 break points and 11 breaks of serve: 4 for Djokovic and 7 for Murray. | |
| The difference was in the details: serves that landed in the corners instead of in what the British call “the tramlines”; half-volleys that struck the net cord and tumbled over for a winner. | |
| But there were some broad-brush realities, too. Murray was much more effective with his first serve: winning 72 percent of the points to Djokovic’s 59 percent. And Djokovic, more often the aggressor than the defender was also not nearly as effective as he needed to be when he decided to swallow hard, take the risk and attempt to unlock an extended point. | |
| “I wasn’t patient enough in the moments when I should have been, when I should have looked for a better opportunity to attack,” he said. “And my serve wasn’t as good as it was the whole tournament. But that’s also because he’s such a good returner. Even when I was putting my first serves in he was always getting them back in the court and making me play an extra shot. That’s why he won the tournament.” | |
| Djokovic, who led 4-1 in the second set and 4-2 in the third set, also looked less spry and energetic than usual. He has recovered so often and so well from marathon matches that it now seems surprising when he does not, but his spectacular five-set, nearly five-hour semifinal victory over Juan Martin del Potro on Friday appeared to exact a toll. | |
| “It took a lot out of me,” Djokovic said, emphasizing that he was not looking for excuses. “I’ve been in these situations before. I felt O.K. Maybe physically, because I didn’t feel maybe I had enough gas in the important moments, I went for my shots more than usual.” | |
| Meanwhile, Murray, who has slowly remade his physique into a weapon over the last few years, was running down drop shot after drop shot in the final stages: hitting passing shots on the stretch and making the road back look like the road from Everest base camp to Djokovic. | |
| Still, even in straight sets, it never looked easy, just as Wimbledon has never felt easy to Murray since he first played in the main draw at age 18. | |
| “It’s hard, really hard,” he said. “For the last four or five years, it’s been very tough, very stressful, a lot of pressure.” | |
| But now, after 77 years and a whole lot of strawberries and cream, the pressure has been released. | |
| Whatever will the British talk about next year? |