Hailing from Great Britain, Andy Murray, for many years carried the baggage of the nation’s expectations of breaking the decades-old drought of becoming the first Briton since Fred Perry in 1936 to lift the Wimbledon Championships.
Chasing the dream, Murray reached three-successive Wimbledon semifinals from 2009 to 2011; however, he lost at the penultimate stage each time.
Finally, in 2012, the former World No. 1 reached his first-ever Wimbledon final to face-off against the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer. Despite winning the opening set and inching close to a two-set to love lead, Murray faltered and eventually suffered a heart-breaking loss.
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Andy Murray creates history after clinching the 2013 Wimbledon title
Instead of getting demoralized, Murray showed great resilience in the face of adversity. In 2013, the previous year’s finalist returned to the All England Club and reached his second-straight final.
En route to the final, Murray ousted the likes of Tommy Robredo, Mikhail Youzhny, and Fernando Verdasco, who he defeated in an extraordinary five-set quarterfinal.
Now, the man that stood between Murray and him fulfilling the British public’s growing expectations was Novak Djokovic. In an incredible display of dominance, Murray completely overpowered Djokovic and lifted his first-ever Wimbledon title in straight sets.
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As the crowd thunderously applauded to celebrate his historic victory, Murray broke down into tears as he, after all the tribulations, became the first British man in 77 years to claim the Wimbledon singles trophy.
With the immaculate golden trophy in his hands, the then 26-year-old said “Winning Wimbledon, yeah, I still can’t believe it. I can’t get my head around that. I can’t believe it,” during the post-match press conference.
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It was arguably the greatest moment of Murray’s glittering career. In fact, three years later, Murray won his second Wimbledon trophy in 2016 when he downed Milos Raonic in the final.
Post the 2016 season, Murray suffered from a lingering hip injury that had kept him out of the tour for over two years. With the 2021 Wimbledon Championships around the corner, fans would be excited to witness Murray back in action on the iconic green lawns after a hiatus of four years.