Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray: “Crowd Helped Me Win Brutal Contest”

The Olympic and US Open champion Andy Murray smashed the 77-year jinx for a British player to claim the men’s title by defeating No.1 Novak Djokovic in the final.

Here is an interesting article ‘Crowd helped me win brutal contest’ about Wimbledon. It was written by Theo Merz for Daily Telegraph.

Andy Murray credited the home crowd with giving him the edge to defeat Novak Djokovic and become the first British man to win a Wimbledon singles title in 77 years.

“The atmosphere today was different to what I’ve experienced in the past. It was different to last year’s final,” he said. “I’ve been saying it all week, but it does make a difference. It really helps when the crowd’s like that, the atmosphere is like that. Especially in a match as tough as that one where it’s extremely hot, brutal, long rallies, tough games – they help you get through it.”

Some say Murray’s victory against Roger Federer to take gold at London 2012, after the Swiss had beaten him in the Wimbledon final just before, was partially down to the more vocal support of the Olympic crowd.

Murray also praised the people of his home town Dunblane. “I spoke to my grandparents on the phone just now. They were watching the match at the local sports club, where I grew up playing. It was absolutely packed in there. I’m glad I managed to win this one for them.” And he thanked coach Ivan Lendl, himself an eight-time grand slam winner, for his pivotal role. “[Lendl] just said that he was proud of me, which obviously coming from him means a lot. You know, he doesn’t smile in public too much, but when he’s away from the crowds and the cameras he’s a very different character.

“He believed in me when a lot of people didn’t. He stuck by me through some tough losses the last couple of years. He’s been very patient with me. I’m just happy I managed to do it for him.”

Murray said his work with Ivan Lendl, who joined his team last year, had helped him bounce back from losses and persevere to claim first the US Open and now the Wimbledon singles titles. “I think I persevered. That’s really been it, the story of my career. I had a lot of tough losses but the one thing I would say is every year I always improved a little bit.”

His mother, Judy, described seeing her son win Wimbledon as as “the best feeling ever”. “This is what he has talked about winning since he was a little boy, it was a dream that has become a reality now for him,” she said.