Murray Cleans Federer's Clock, Gets Olympic Gold

Great Scot! Murray, in Wimby final rematch, beats Federer, wins Olympic gold. Courtesy TwitPic.Four weeks ago, Andy Murray was in tears on Centre Court at Wimbledon.  He had just lost the championship to Roger Federer in four sets.

"I'm getting closer," he choked, eliciting huge applause from his fellow Brits in the stands.

Murray got closer still to a Grand Slam title by winning an Olympic gold medal on Centre Court in a rematch of the Wimbledon final, thrashing the number one player in the world and greatest of all time in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.

Nothing Federer did could blunt Murray's focus. His backhand slice had no bite. His first serve percentage flagged.  Fed looked like a 31-year-old on the grass, lunging for shots, getting passed at net, missing pickup shots that, for the Greatest of All Time, are usually routine.  He could not get to Murray's deep groundstrokes to the corners, swatting at them lamely with his racquet.  He doubled faulted at 30-40 to give Murray a 4-0 lead in the third set.  It was weird to see him so powerless. 

Murray, meanwhile, was nearly flawless.  He coolly hit three consecutive aces to close out the third set, and the match.

  

Murray clearly benefitted from playing in the same venue, in front of a British crowd, just four weeks earlier.  "Ivan Lendl told me that I'd never play under more pressure than in a Wimbledon final," he told NBC's John McEnroe.  "I didn't feel that nervous."