Andy Murray is Wimbledon champion for the second time after a quick dismantling of sixth seed Milos Raonic in the Gentlemen’s singles grand final.
The Scotsman was playing in his 11th grand slam final as he breezed past Raonic despite the Canadian’s famed strong serve, winning the match by 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) to claim his third Grand Slam title.
Raonic went into the match with 137 aces, but it took him five games to add a 138th. On the other hand, the world No2 served brilliantly and returned just as well, effectively neutralizing the sixth seed’s most potent weapon.
25-year-old Raonic had beaten Roger Federer earlier in the semi-final, but could only win 67% of his points, 20% less than Murray. His aces was also limited to just eight, a relatively low amount compared to an average of 22.8 in his previous six matches.
Two hours and 48 minutes was all the time that Murray needed to seal his victory, earning him the £2m prize money of the tournament.
Murray’s repeat of his 2013 triumph also makes him the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon men’s singles titles since Fred Perry in 1935.
“I’m proud to have my hands on the trophy again,” Murray said after the match. “I’ve had some great moments here, but also some tough losses. The win feels extra special because of the tough losses.”
The crowd had been expectant and raucous as Murray fought on to victory; among them a man who had put himself on morphine having been in hospital for more than a month with a crushed pelvis, just so he could see the Scot in action.
“Hopefully he’s OK and gets back on the morphine,” Murray said. “Obviously that’s amazing and hearing those stories makes me feel happy and proud. They’re all the things I’m trying not to hear during the tournament because there is a lot of pressure and stress.”
“But the support that I had throughout the two weeks, especially today was amazing. It really helps.”
Murray will now turn his attention to assist team Great Britain in the defense of their Davis Cup title. They will be facing off against Serbia at an advantage after Novak Djokovic rules himself out of his national team.