When Andy Murray won his second Wimbledon and third Slam overnight, his implacable and poker-faced coach Ivan Lendl burst into tears.
That was no mean feat, but that’s what Wimbledon does to even the most steely of men.
Murray stood tall in his 6-4 7-6 7-6 win over first-time finalist, Canadian Milos Raonic in two hours 47 minutes of superb tennis.
More Wimbledon:
» Wimbledon wrap: Murray the man, and an Aussie name to remember
» Re-live the action with our live blog of the men’s final
» Match report: Murray wins second Wimbledon crown
Like Serena Williams the day before, Murray was the best player in the best tournament at the home of tennis.
To add to the theatre, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both keen tennis fans, were in the Royal Box, along with tennis legends Roy Emerson, Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, and Chris Evert, plus the British Prime Minister David Cameron, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, London Major Nadiq Khan, along with actors Hugh Grant, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bradley Cooper.
Lendl was in the Murray box, with John Newcombe and John McEnroe on air for Australian and American television respectively.
They were treated to a classical Wimbledon final, where break points were like hen’s teeth – just nine in total with only one converted by Murray in the first set.
Raonic went into the decider owning the tournament’s leading ace stat with 137.
But his 138th didn’t surface until the fifth game and he ended up with only eight for the match, thanks to Murray’s brilliant returns.
But Murray’s second serve was his only weak link, winning just 56 per cent compared with Raonic’s 71 per cent – that very nearly proved costly to the Scot.
By the way, notice the British media claim Murray as a Brit until he loses, then he’s a Scot. To me, he’s always a Scot.
But Murray wasn’t to be denied overnight. It was the first time in ten previous Slam finals he didn’t have to face Roger Federer three times, or Novak Djokovic on seven occasions.
The two he won were against Djokovic in the 2012 US Open in five sets, and again Djokovic at Wimbledon 2013 in straight sets.
But this one was very special. Since his last Slam success Murray has married Kim and they have a daughter, Sophia, born last February.
As a result Murray’s game has taken on more consistency, and it was that consistency that proved Raonic’s downfall.
It was Murray who won the crucial points, either by a big serve, or safely returning a big serve with interest off either wing.
There was nothing between them with winners at 39 each, but it was the unforced errors that made the difference,
Raonic had 39 of them, Murray just 12, which constantly made the Canadian play that extra shot, adding to the pressure.
To prove how close the final was, Murray won 115 points overall, Raonic 102…
The crowning glory was the Murray walk to the balcony overlooking what was Henman Hill, that’s now Murray’s Mountain.
Holding the coveted gold Wimbledon trophy aloft, the thunderous applause from the sea of faces was the icing on the cake for Andy Murray.
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