Murray relieved to end Britain's wait

Andy Murray breaks down in tears after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
6 July 2012

Andy Murray felt both relieved and thrilled after ending Britain's 74-year wait for a Wimbledon men's singles finalist.

The Scot saw off Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-5 on Centre Court to book a final date with Roger Federer on Sunday - meaning 1938 runner-up Bunny Austin is no longer the last British man to have reached the showpiece event at SW19.

He broke down in tears on court, before pointing to the skies as has now become his post-match ritual, and admitted afterwards to just being glad to have made it through. "There's a bit of relief, excitement. It's tough to explain, it was such a close match," Murray said on BBC1.

"Both of us had chances, I was up a break, he came back, then he had break points at 4-4 in the fourth and I managed to hang tough enough."

The match ended amid high drama, with a cross-court forehand from Murray being referred to a Hawk-eye challenge before the win was confirmed.

"I knew it was in, I thought he challenged, they said it was called out so I challenged," he added.

"I had started the match really well, served well, but he came back, started serving better and hit some great volleys. I did well to hang in because he started to play really well."

On having carried the hopes of a nation with him throughout the tournament, Murray also conceded to having felt the strain on court.

"It's just difficult, there's a lot of pressure on the court, a lot of stress but you need to think about the next and not what has happened in the past," he said.

"It's been a great tournament so far and hopefully I can go one better. It's just a big relief. It was a very emotional end to the match - one of the biggest matches of my life. I have played Roger in finals before and need to learn from them. He's playing great tennis and I'm very excited."

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