There was a mammoth 77 years between Fred Perry’s third successive Wimbledon triumph in 1936 and Andy Murray’s maiden success at the Championships in 2013.
However, like London buses, you wait ages for one, then a couple come along in quick succession, and that was the case with Murray, as he lifted his second Wimbledon title just three years later.
The Scottish tennis player is far from favoured for a third victory in the 2021 Wimbledon odds, and whilst the majority of Brits will be urging him on, it’s hard to imagine that Murray will be competing in the business end of the competition in a couple of weeks time.
So, as we sit back, relax and enjoy lawn tennis’ finest spectacle, let’s take a look back at how the now 34-year-old got his hands on the prestigious trophy for a second time. Read on to find out more!
First Round – Liam Broady
Murray kicked off his Wimbledon quest with an all-British encounter with wildcard entry Liam Broady, and it was a rather straightforward affair for the former champion, as he overcame the challenge of the current British No. 5 in straight sets — winning 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
Second Round – Yen-Hsun Lu
Murray was wasting no time and certainly no energy in his second-round game against Yen-Hsun Lu, an opponent who had beaten the Scot at the 2008 Olympics. Despite being broken by the Taiwanese professional in the opening game, Murray dominated the rest of the match — once again winning in straight sets (6-3, 6-2, 6-1).
Third Round – John Millman
Inspired and motivated by the surprising news that Novak Djokovic was shockingly eliminated by 28th seed Sam Querrey, Murray — the new top seed — looked fantastic on Centre Court, as he once again won in straight sets — beating the fierce Australian John Millman, who wouldn’t go down without a fight, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
Fourth Round – Nick Kyrgios
Controversial Aussie Nick Kyrgios awaited Murray in the fourth round and he certainly put the Scot under the cosh, matching him game-for-game for the most part of the first set. However, Murray eventually ground the then 21-year-old down, winning the opening set 7-5 and Kyrgios seemed to run out of steam, losing the following sets 6-1, 6-4.
Quarter-finals – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga presented Murray with his toughest task thus far in the quarterfinals. It was a tense contest from the off with Murray edging the first set 7-6 (12-10) before a comfortable 6-1 victory in the second set. However, the 12th seed fought back, winning two successive sets of his own. All Tsonga’s efforts to get back into the game were for nothing, however, as Murray breezed to a 6-1 victory in the final set.
Semi-finals – Tomáš Berdych
After the physically exhausting encounter with Tsonga, there’s no doubt that Murray would have hoped for a much more straightforward victory over Czech Tomáš Berdych, and that’s exactly what he got, as he beat the 10th seed 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court, booking his place in the final against Milos Raonic, who had knocked Roger Federer out earlier in the day.
Final – Milos Raonic
Raonic had racked up a huge 137 aces en route to the Wimbledon final. However, the threat of Raonic’s massive serve didn’t seem to faze Murray out on a windy Centre Court, as the Scot went on to win 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2).
“I’m proud to have my hands on the trophy again,” Murray said.
“This is the most important tournament for me every year,” added an emotional Murray.
“I’ve had some great moments here, but also some tough losses. The win feels extra special because of the tough losses.”
Andy Murray · Sir Andy Murray · Wimbledon
Scoop Malinowski · June 29, 2021 at 1:44 pm
Andy winning each of his Wimbledons was wonderful to watch. THought Djokovic had a strangely passive effort vs Andy until the very end then he started to show top intensity. Raonic has never quite been in Andy’s league, Andy has probably been the main culprit in ruining Raonic’s career from achieving Grand Slam glory.