On this day in 2012: Andy Murray ends long wait for male British major winner

The 25-year-old needed almost five hours to battle past Djokovic in a memorable contest.

Pa Sport Staff
Thursday 09 September 2021 13:59 BST
Andy Murray, pictured, was back in action at the US Open this year, the scene of his grand slam breakthrough triumph in 2012 (Seth Wenig/PA)
Andy Murray, pictured, was back in action at the US Open this year, the scene of his grand slam breakthrough triumph in 2012 (Seth Wenig/PA) (PA Wire)

Andy Murray became the first British man to win a grand slam singles title for 76 years when defeating Novak Djokovic in the US Open final on this day in 2012.

The Scottish star ground past Djokovic 7-6 (8) 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2 at Flushing Meadows, to land Britain’s first men’s singles grand slam crown since Fred Perry in 1936.

The 25-year-old needed almost five hours to battle past Djokovic in a memorable contest, inking his name into the annals in the process.

Winning Olympic gold had earlier that summer helped propel Murray to that elusive grand slam breakthrough, with the Dunblane native having reached the Wimbledon final in the same year.

Andy Murray, pictured, meets crowds in Dunblane after winning Olympic gold in his pivotal 2012 (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Archive)

Murray would go on to claim Wimbledon glory in 2013, before triumphing at the US Open again in 2016.

He reached six other grand slam finals in a glittering career.

Murray underwent major hip surgery in 2019 having suffered injury and pain problems for more than two years.

While the operation proved a success, the sheer scale of damage to the joint had Murray seriously fearing the end of his career.

The now 34-year-old managed to fight his way back onto the circuit however and pushed third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas all the way in a five-set defeat in the first round at this year’s US Open.

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