After a 76 year wait for a male singles Grand Slam winner, Andy Murray has won the US Open.
Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in an epic five set battle 7-6(10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 in Flushing Meadows, New York to emulate Fred Perry's 1936 achievement in nearly five hours on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match Murray said: "I'm still buzzing from the match. It was an unbelievable match. I'm so so happy."
The 25 year-old, who had won an Olympic gold in August, has topped off a fantastic year by winning his first Grand Slam title.
In the deciding 5th set, Murray came back as the more confident player, hitting the ball with more assertion and aggression. He stormed to a 3-0 lead but then was broken back at 3-1. Djokovic then held for 3-2. However the British No.1 kept his concentration and took the title on his second championship point after nearly 5 hours of fiercely competition tennis between these two great Champions who have been playing against each other since they were 11 years old.
Inspired? Why not get on court? It has never been easier to play tennis across the South and you can find out where your local courts, or local clubs are and find people to play with by visiting www.allplaytennis.com
The LTA continue to invest in grass roots tennis through the AEGON Schools Tennis Offer which now supports 80% of schools (50% of whom are linked with a Place to Play or coaching provider) and also through the AEGON Beacon programme which aims to create and develop public facilities and programmes that are accessible and affordable to inspire the next generation in to the game, there are currently 200 Beacon Places to Play delivering a range of programmes including Cardio Tennis and Mini Tennis for the juniors. Locally there are numerous examples of community tennis projects aimed at increasing participation for different user groups with a range of new disability programmes to be announced in the coming weeks.
Andy Trott LTA Tennis Development Officer for the South West “I hope that this along with his success at the Olympics in the singles and with Laura Robson in the doubles will inspire him to believe that he is a Champion and that he can go on and become a legend of the sport. His success will inspire our top juniors and aspiring performance players to believe in their ability and understand that with hard work, dedication, determination and perseverance you can achieve anything. The infrastructure is there to support the identification, development and progression on to performance and for those who simply want to get on court and enjoy the game it has never been easier and the future for British Tennis is very promising on all levels.”