Revenge sweet for Murray : Photo wikimedia/Carine06

Geoff Poulton

Sun 05 Aug

A month to the day after Andy Murray lost the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer, the Scot went some way to avenging defeat by dispatching the Swiss to claim Olympic gold in the men's tennis. Having beaten world number two Novak Djokovic in the semi final, Murray comfortably defeated the world number one on Sunday afternoon, winning 6-2 6-1 6-4 on Wimbledon's centre court.

"I have had a lot of tough losses in my career and this is the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final," said Murray. "This is one of the biggest wins of my life." If the fact that Murray came back so quickly from his tearful loss to Federer was only mildly surprising, the manner in which he took the Swiss maestro apart was nothing short of sensational. From 2-2 in the first set, Murray won the next nine games to establish a 5-0 lead in the second set and essentially clinch the match.

Federer had been involved in a marathon semi-final against bronze medal winner Juan Martin del Potro on Friday, eventually sealing victory by claiming the final set 19-17. That match seemed to take it out of him, and when Murray saved six break points to hold for 3-0 in the second set, the writing seemed on the wall. He continued to control the match and sealed an emphatic victory with an ace, before leaping into the stands to celebrate with his entourage. While Federer has the small consolation of 17 grand slam titles and a gold medal in doubles from four years ago, the win clearly meant a lot to Murray, who, just as four weeks ago, had tears in his eyes, but for a very different reason.

Just hours after celebrating arguably the biggest win of his career, Murray was back on centre court in the mixed doubles final alongside his 18-year-old partner Laura Robson, looking to secure another gold. After taking the opening set against Belarusians Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka, the British pair lost the second and went down 10-8 in the champions tie-break.

For Murray, though it was an excellent week, in which he played well throughout. "I didn't expect that at the start of the week," Murray said after picking up his gold medal. "I thought I'd go deep into the tournament but I felt so fresh today. It's amazing." He will travel to the United States in excellent mood ahead of the US Open, which begins in three weeks' time, confident that he can finally break his duck in a grand slam.