WIMBLEDON, England — Once the sunshine turned to rain, hope turned to disappointment one more time for Andy Murray and British tennis fans.
After the roof was closed over Centre Court, and Roger Federer started playing near-perfect indoor tennis, the best window of opportunity for a British man to win Wimbledon in 76 years gradually closed as well.
And while “Murray Mania” may have been stronger than ever in Britain on Sunday, the wait for homegrown men’s champion at the All England Club continues.
“I’m getting closer,” a teary-eyed Murray told the Centre Court crowd after losing to Federer in four sets.
Closer, in fact, than any British man had been since Fred Perry won his last title here in 1936. Murray had taken Wimbledon hysteria to a new level at home by becoming the first British man to even reach the final since 1938, when Bunny Austin lost in straight sets.
In a final that began in bright sunshine, Murray gave the country and his thousands of supporters at the All England Club reason to believe he could go one better by winning the first set. But when rain came, and the roof closed, Murray simply couldn’t deal with Federer’s perfect timing in indoor conditions as the Swiss star went on to secure his seventh Wimbledon title with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
And for the fourth time in four Grand Slam finals, Murray was left to give the runner-up’s acceptance speech. With his voice cracking up, Murray thanked the crowd for sticking by him despite another loss.
“Everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon, how tough it is,” said Murray, who lost in the semifinals the last three years. “It’s not the people watching. They make it so much easier to play. The support has been incredible, so thank you.” /ap