Federer rules in England
With the weight of Great Britain on his shoulders, Andy Murray was unable to undo 76 years of history. It has been that long since a British man has won Wimbledon.
Roger Federer defeated Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 for his seventh Wimbledon crown. The last player to win seven Wimbledon titles is American Pete Sampras.
The Swiss has now extended his record of major titles to 17. This one was a long time coming though. Federer has not won a major in two-and-a-half years. Federer also regained his No. 1 world ranking with the win.
With his twin three-year-old daughters looking on, Federer told the crowd, “I never stopped believing.”
A tearful Murray was gracious in defeat. “Everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon, how tough it is,” Murray said. “It’s not about the people watching, they make it so much easier to play. The support has been wonderful.”
The match was the first-ever Wimbledon final to be played with the roof closed. When the skies opened up in the third set, the players scrambled for cover as the tarp was quickly rolled out.
40 minutes later, Federer took over and never looked back.
The 31-year-old Federer is the first Grand Slam winner over the age of 30 since Andre Agassi won the Australian Open in 2003 at the age of 32.
