TENNIS:The Scot silenced his doubters with a stunning display to take Olympic gold, writes KEVIN MITCHELL
ANDY MURRAY was desperate for gold, and, crushing Roger Federer in straight sets on the same court where he lost to him in four in the Wimbledon final only a month ago, he took the prize in the most emphatic fashion. He is yet to win a slam title, but he is an Olympic champion, his single greatest achievement in the game so far. A major cannot be far away.
After the early jousting, it was almost embarrassingly one-sided as Federer, recently restored to No 1 in the world, went fully an hour without winning a game. That is a remarkable statistic.
“Definitely easier winning in the final than losing,” Murray said. “This is the way to come back from the Wimbledon final. I’ll never forget it.
“It’s the biggest win of my life. This week has been incredible so far. I’ve had a lot of fun, the support’s been amazing. All of the events I’ve watched, the support has been amazing.
“I didn’t expect that at the start of the week, but I felt so fresh. I didn’t feel nervous, apart from the start. Tough conditions, very windy. I played a good match.”
Even Jeremy Clarkson and Virginia Wade must have been moved – if not to tears, then certainly a quiet, Little Englander hand-clap to go with the raucous reception he received from his new fan club on Centre Court. They would have raised the roof had it been left on after the morning rain.
As it was, their long, lusty cheers floated into the bright blue skies in celebration of Great Britain’s 16th gold medal at these lovely London Olympics, and one of the most convincing.
Murray won 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in just under two hours and, once he started to pull away from his strangely anxious opponent, the shots flowed. It would be asking a lot for him to play like this all the time, but there have been significant signs since he took Ivan Lendl on board in January that his game is getting towards a pleasing blend of safe and dangerous.
From the middle of the first set to the end, nearly everything clicked for him, cross-court passing shots, to clipped net cords that fell kindly for him, and his serve, which put three aces past Federer at the very end.
He climbed into the box to embrace his girlfriend Kim Sears and the rest of his team, as well as his dad, Willie and, longest of all, his mum, Judy, perhaps the biggest influence on his interesting life. Laura Robson, his partner in the mixed doubles, got a little hug, as did a small, tearful boy who emerged from the crowd to acclaim his hero.
Federer, meanwhile, had disappeared down the tunnel. In the third round of the Wimbledon championships, Federer recovered from two sets down to beat Julien Benneteau. With the best will in the world, the Frenchman is no Murray. And this was not the same Federer.
“I don’t think I played too badly,” the Swiss player said, “but he played well, good shot selections. I didn’t convert any break points. I made wrong decisions from time to time. Andy looked like never doubted himself. I’m very happy for him.”
Did Murray want it more than Federer? Maybe, although it is impossible to differentiate between Federer’s levels of intensity because he rarely changes gear. Still, there could be no mistaking the Scot’s determination to put behind him the memories of their last match.
If the crowd lifted him, they deserve a medal too, because they carried none of the freight of the regulars who come here annually to cheer in hope rather than expectation. These supporters had the advantage of innocence and their joy transmitted itself to Murray, who is playing with a little more freedom, certainly less anxiety.
He still bases his game on his solid defensive play and was rarely sucked into machismo exchanges with Federer, who, increasingly, raids the net in search of quick winners and exposes himself to the lob and passing shot. Three days shy of his 31st birthday, the Swiss trusts his brain more than his legs.
In response, Murray played some intelligent tennis, none more so than when leading 2-0 in the second set and struggling to hold serve as Federer launched his last proper fightback, not dissimilar to one at a similar stage of their Wimbledon final.
It lasted quarter of an hour and Federer had five break points but could take none of them as Murray powered down his first serve and steered rather than barged to 3-0. After that, his clean hitting carried him clear to a relatively unfussed victory. He broke him in the fifth game of the third set and, although he failed to convert three break points at the next available opportunity, was dominant when the end came.
John McEnroe said he suspected Murray might do something special when he saw him responding positively to fans one night during the week in nearby Wimbledon village.
As For Federer, McEnroe observed, “It’s the first time in a long time he looked his age. Djokovic won the Australian. Nadal won the French. Roger won Wimbledon. Andy won the Olympic gold. Could he win the ATP World Tour Finals in Greenwich and be ranked No 1 by the end of the year? He could.”
Could these be the Golden Years for Andy Murray? Possibly. No longer, though, will he run for the shadows. His tennis has changed and so has his demeanour.
The release of emotion from Murray was as strong as it had been in defeat four weeks ago to the day, except these tears were ones of exultation.
