[h=3]by Douglas Robson, special for USA TODAY[/h]Updated
Andy Murray topped Novak Djokovic in five grueling sets to win his first Grand Slam.
NEW YORK -- Andy Murray exorcised the ghost of Fred Perry and burnished a British summer brimming with Olympic pride by holding off Novak Djokovic to win his first Grand Slam tournament championship at the U.S. Open on Monday.
Scotland's Murray -- doggedly battling the blustery conditions, a nation's self-doubt and a tenacious comeback from defending champion Djokovic-- prevailed 7-6 (12-10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2.
At 4 hours, 54 minutes it tied the longest U.S. Open final in history.
"It was incredibly tricky conditions," Murray said during the on-court trophy ceremony. "After the third and fourth sets it was tough mentally for me. ... I don't know how I managed to come through in the end."
Buoyed by his Olympic gold medal in singles three weeks after suffering a crushing defeat in the Wimbledon final and playing a more assertive brand of tennis under coach Ivan Lendl, Murray finally scaled the heights dominated by Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who had won 29 of the past 30 majors.
The only thing that could have topped his breakthrough summer was bringing Great Britain its first men's Grand Slam title in 76 years. And he did. Perry last won a major for England in 1936.
"Well it wasn't to be," said five-time major champ Djokovic, who came across the net to hug Murray after his final return sailed long. "I want to congratulate Andy for his first Grand Slam. He absolutely deserves it."
Swirling winds, and 20-mph gusts, played havoc with serves and groundstrokes, which sometimes careened sideways as the two 25-year-olds traded heavy shots from the baseline.
The nettlesome wind meant the match wasn't of the highest quality, but the entertainment value soared.
It featured momentum shifts, daring shot-making and, of course, defense from another world.
Balls appeared out of impossible corners. One, two or three overhead smashes were sometimes not enough to finish a point. One rally in the first set lasted a lung-imploding 55 strokes.
Muttering to himself, often profanely, third-seeded Murray eked out the first set in a 24-minute tiebreaker. He held on to the second set after holding a 4-0 lead.
Serbia's Djokovic, one week younger than Murray, refused to give in, taking the next two sets before his former junior rival found his range and played enough of the aggressive tennis advocated by Lendl to finish Djokovic off.
Djokovic nearly pulled off what hadn't happened in 63 years at the U.S. Open -- coming back from a two set deficit in the final. American Pancho Gonzalez was the last to do so in 1949.
At Wimbledon, he broke down several times in his runner-up speech after losing in four sets to Federer, saying that he was "getting closer." He was right.
After match point, Murray knelt with his hands on his face, tears welling his eyes.
And this time his eyes were wet with joy.
Murray had lost his two previous meetings with Djokovic in majors, including the 2011 Australian Open final and a 4-hour, 50-minute defeat in the Melbourne semifinals this year.
Murray avoided joining Australia's Fred Stolle as the only man to lose his first five Grand Slam finals. He had been tied with eight-time major winner Lendl coming into the final at 0-4.
With the New York championship, a gold medal and a Wimbledon final, Murray has put himself in the conversation for player-of-the-year discussions.
Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open winner, had another fine Grand Slam season -- he also reached the French Open final -- but nothing close to his spectacular 2011, when he went unbeaten for nearly six months and won three majors.
"I think that was almost a smile," Murray joked on court about the stony-faced Lendl, who looked on with a slight grin in the players' box as his mother with his Judy Murray and girlfriend Kim Sears beamed from here to Scotland.
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By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY
Andy Murray topped Novak Djokovic in five grueling sets to win his first Grand Slam.
Andy Murray topped Novak Djokovic in five grueling sets to win his first Grand Slam.
NEW YORK -- Andy Murray exorcised the ghost of Fred Perry and burnished a British summer brimming with Olympic pride by holding off Novak Djokovic to win his first Grand Slam tournament championship at the U.S. Open on Monday.
Scotland's Murray -- doggedly battling the blustery conditions, a nation's self-doubt and a tenacious comeback from defending champion Djokovic-- prevailed 7-6 (12-10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2.
At 4 hours, 54 minutes it tied the longest U.S. Open final in history.
"It was incredibly tricky conditions," Murray said during the on-court trophy ceremony. "After the third and fourth sets it was tough mentally for me. ... I don't know how I managed to come through in the end."
Buoyed by his Olympic gold medal in singles three weeks after suffering a crushing defeat in the Wimbledon final and playing a more assertive brand of tennis under coach Ivan Lendl, Murray finally scaled the heights dominated by Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who had won 29 of the past 30 majors.
The only thing that could have topped his breakthrough summer was bringing Great Britain its first men's Grand Slam title in 76 years. And he did. Perry last won a major for England in 1936.
"Well it wasn't to be," said five-time major champ Djokovic, who came across the net to hug Murray after his final return sailed long. "I want to congratulate Andy for his first Grand Slam. He absolutely deserves it."
Swirling winds, and 20-mph gusts, played havoc with serves and groundstrokes, which sometimes careened sideways as the two 25-year-olds traded heavy shots from the baseline.
The nettlesome wind meant the match wasn't of the highest quality, but the entertainment value soared.
It featured momentum shifts, daring shot-making and, of course, defense from another world.
Balls appeared out of impossible corners. One, two or three overhead smashes were sometimes not enough to finish a point. One rally in the first set lasted a lung-imploding 55 strokes.
Muttering to himself, often profanely, third-seeded Murray eked out the first set in a 24-minute tiebreaker. He held on to the second set after holding a 4-0 lead.
Serbia's Djokovic, one week younger than Murray, refused to give in, taking the next two sets before his former junior rival found his range and played enough of the aggressive tennis advocated by Lendl to finish Djokovic off.
Djokovic nearly pulled off what hadn't happened in 63 years at the U.S. Open -- coming back from a two set deficit in the final. American Pancho Gonzalez was the last to do so in 1949.
At Wimbledon, he broke down several times in his runner-up speech after losing in four sets to Federer, saying that he was "getting closer." He was right.
After match point, Murray knelt with his hands on his face, tears welling his eyes.
And this time his eyes were wet with joy.
Murray had lost his two previous meetings with Djokovic in majors, including the 2011 Australian Open final and a 4-hour, 50-minute defeat in the Melbourne semifinals this year.
Murray avoided joining Australia's Fred Stolle as the only man to lose his first five Grand Slam finals. He had been tied with eight-time major winner Lendl coming into the final at 0-4.
With the New York championship, a gold medal and a Wimbledon final, Murray has put himself in the conversation for player-of-the-year discussions.
Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open winner, had another fine Grand Slam season -- he also reached the French Open final -- but nothing close to his spectacular 2011, when he went unbeaten for nearly six months and won three majors.
"I think that was almost a smile," Murray joked on court about the stony-faced Lendl, who looked on with a slight grin in the players' box as his mother with his Judy Murray and girlfriend Kim Sears beamed from here to Scotland.
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to [email protected]. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines.