I watched the US Open Men's final yesterday, between Novak Djokovic, who was trying to reassert himself as the world's number one ranked tennis player with another Grand Slam title, and Andy Murray, who entered the match with a career 0-4 record in Grand Slam Finals, and had earned another shot at becoming the first British man to have won a Grand Slam since 1936, when Fred Perry won both Wimbledon and the US Open.
The world has changed just a little bit since then, but some things had remained consistent - including the annual tradition of British fans hoping that one of their own could finally break through, and consistently being disappointed by the results.
At Wimbledon, there was Henman's Hill, and now there's Murray's Mound. But it seemed like these were destined for disappointment, year after year.
Even when things changed, it seemed that they were destined to stay the same, more than ever, perhaps even. Because though Murray finally broke through to qualify for the Wimbledon Final, he lost to the great Roger Federer.
Murray had to talk after the crushing defeat, and he was unable to avert the tears. As he spoke, you could clearly hear his voice wavering, and the pain he felt was evident. He had been to Grand Slam finals before, but come up empty each of the three previous times. Having the same result in front of his home crowd, with their incredible support, was just too crushing.
But things finally did change. The next month, the Wimbledon courts hosted the Olympic Games for tennis, and once again, it was Federer and Murray. Only this time, Murray won - big time! He picked Roger Federer apart, which is rare, especially when it is such a hugely important match, and won the gold medal for Great Britain.
Many felt that the victory perhaps marked a turning point for Andy Murray, that he would finally manage to capture his first ever Grand Slam title. Others expressed doubt, citing the traditional dominance of men such as Federer and Djokovic (and Nadal, who was absent for this US Open).
Murray played extremely well, however, and managed, once again, to qualify for the final. This time, Federer was not around (for the first time in what seems like ages, he did not qualify for the quarterfinals, having been bounced by Berdych, who Murray would have to face, and got past, in the semifinal.
The men's final yesterday was extremely intense. It might have been the most tense US Open final that I can remember, and that's saying something. Both players gave it their all, both displayed their brilliance at times. They both hit some incredible shots, and both showed their resilience in bouncing back from seemingly difficult circumstances, having to wrestle the momentum from their opponents.
But in the end, as we learned from the movie Highlander (I make that reference because, of course, Sean Connery was notably in the audience last night), there can be only one. And for the first time in his career, it was Andy Murray who was the last one standing at a Grand Slam event when the dust settled.
He took the first set, which was an epic, physical battle that seemed to last forever, and then seemed to have the match well in hand, when he took the second set.
But Djokovic was the number one player last year, and has been here before. He knew what to do, and instead of panicking, he took the wind out of Murray's sails, and took over momentum, easily cruising to a third set win, and then hanging onto the early break that he took in the fourth, thus forcing the fifth and deciding set.
Yet it was Murray who owned this night, and he took two breaks from Djokovic early on. He lost one of them, but then took it back later in the set, just before serving it out to take the match, and the championship.
It has been an incredible and unforgettable year for Andy Murray, much like it was for his vanquished opponent last year, much like it was also for Nadal in both 2008 and 2010, and much like it was for Federer in 2004-2007, and then again in 2009. It's Murray's turn right now, and he has finally broken through to win a Grand Slam. It was his first, and most likely will not be his last. I guess the real question is, can the number one ranking be far behind?
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