It all ends in tears for Murray

Andy Murray (pictured) could not conceal his emotions after his defeat to Roger Federer
9 July 2012

Andy Murray laid his emotions bare on Wimbledon's Centre Court as another grand slam dream ended in tears.

The 25-year-old went into Sunday's final against Roger Federer with history in his sights, bidding to win his first grand slam title and become the first British men's singles champion at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray was the first home player to reach the final for 74 years, but he could not build on a great start and it was Federer who triumphed 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 to win his seventh Wimbledon title and ensure he will be ranked number one. In a halting and tearful on-court interview, and with his voice breaking, he said: "I'm getting closer."

He stepped away from the microphone for a minute before returning to say: "I'm going to try. This is not going to be easy. Firstly I'd like to congratulate Roger.

"I was asked the other day, 'Is this your best chance, Roger is 30 now?' He's not bad for a 30-year-old. He played a great tournament. I know he had some struggles with his back, but he showed what fight he had. He deserves it.

"I'll try not to look at him as I'll start (crying) again. Thanks to everyone who has supported me. You did a great job. It's always tough."

The two players embraced afterwards, and Murray later explained he had apologised for his weeping. There were tears of joy after his semi-final win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but Sunday's were of despair.

"I just said to Roger, 'Sorry'. I didn't want that to happen. It's like you're attention-seeking or something. It was not like that at all," Murray said.

"And I knew it before, because they asked me if I wanted to do the interview. I knew it was going to be hard because I just felt it. I didn't know if I wanted to do it, but I tried.

"I've seen Roger do the same thing a couple times before, so he kind of knows what it's like. He just laughed. He said, 'This is meant to be the easy part', doing the speeches after the match. But sometimes it feels quite hard compared with playing a tennis match."

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