Andy Murray Knocks Off Roger Federer For Singles Olympic Gold

Barely a month after losing at Wimbledon, British Andy Murray knocked tennis giant Roger Federer for the men’s singles gold with a relentless 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. His victory signified a big step for any tennis player, but a great one for Murray in particular, who has lost three of four Grand Slam finals to Federer in the past. “It has been the best week of my tennis career by a mile,” Murray told The Washington Post. “I’ve had a lot of tough losses. This is the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final. I’ll never forget it.”

Murray dominated nine consecutive games, breaking all break points and several serves delivered by Federer. “He never looked back,” Federer said of Murray. “His credit for getting in the lead and using the crowd to come through. He did an unbelievable job,” added Federer who, despite settling for silver, insists he is content with his run. “Don’t feel too bad for me,” Federer said. “I felt like I won my silver, I didn’t lose it. So I feel really happy.”

Murray also had plenty of reasons to be satisfied with his performance. Not only was this one of his career’s best games, Murray also made history by becoming the first British man to win the singles gold since Josiah Ritchie in 1908. “When I look back at the match, it will be the biggest win of my life,” Murray told the Chicago Tribune.

So what was the key to Murray’s success? “I’m starting to find a way of treating every single point exactly the same throughout the whole match,” Murray revealed to The Post. “When you do that, you tend to play better for longer in the match.” But Murray admits that the cheering fans may have been a substantial factor in the winning as well. “They helped me a few extra miles per hour on my serves,” Murray said. “That’s not why I lost the match, but it gave him a lift,” Federer added, referring to the “We believe, Ann-deh!” chants that rang out repeatedly during the two-hour match.

Murray’s win concludes a spectacular weekend for Britain at the Olympics, which saw Mo Farah take the 10,000, Greg Rutherford sweep the long jump, and Jessica Ennis conquer the heptathlon.

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