A Month After Wimbledon Defeat, Murray Returns To Beat Federer And Win Gold At London Olympics
Source:forbes.com:Only a month after losing to Roger Federer on Centre Court at Winbledon, Brit Andy Murray beat the Swiss Federer (6-2, 6-1, 6-4), winning gold at the London Olympics and giving the British more reason to embrace a full-blown Olympic fever.
The win marks Great Britain's first Olympic gold medal in tennis since 1908.
"The atmosphere was unbelievable," Murray said in an NBC interview immediately after the win. "I don't feel that nervous. It's strange. I felt much more comfortable on the court. It was amazing. The crowd helped me get in a few extra miles per hour on the last few serves. But no way did I expect a score like that in the final."
In the third set of the men's tennis finals, each point Murray won was met with increasingly louder cheers and waving Union Jacks.
With his final ace serve, Murray covered his eyes as the crowd gave a roaring standing ovation and chanted his name. Murray slipped into the crowd to hug his family and coach, surrounded by the kind of excitement rarely seen at the normally reserved crowd at Wimbledon.
"This was one of the biggest wins of my life," Murray said later. "I have had a lot of tough losses in my career and this is the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final. This week has been incredible for me, the support has been amazing at all of the Olympic the events.
"I watched the athletics last night and the way Mo Farah won gave me a boost coming into today. I didn't expect that at the start of the week. I thought I'd go deep into the tournament but I felt so fresh today. It's amazing."
Federer was gracious in defeat.
"He was better, much better than I was today but I'm happy with silver," Federer said in a post-game interview. "I had a very emotional tournament. Maybe I was emotionally drained but, nevertheless, I didn't think I played too badly, but things didn't go my way. It's unfortunate, but still a great day for me. Andy looked like he was never doubting himself and he was able to come through this time around. He's had a wonderful career already and I'm happy for him."
Tim Henman, Olympic silver medallist and BBC Sport tennis pundit, had this to say: