Roger Federer Beats Andy Murray for Record-Tying 7th Wimbledon Title
Roger Federer soundly defeated Britain’s Andy Murray, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, on Sunday at Wimbledon to win his seventh men’s singles title and tie Pete Sampras’ open-era record for championships at the All England Club. The match was the first-ever Wimbledon men’s championship played with the roof closed over Centre Court.
After losing the first set to Murray, Federer, 30, rallied to win the second with a well-placed backhand drop volley that the Brit could not return. With the match even in the third set, a downpour forced play to be suspended for 40 minutes. Officials dictated that the championship would be completed with the retractable roof closed.
Federer dominated play after the roof was closed by easily winning both sets on the way to his 17th Grand Slam title overall, extending his own record for major championships. Murray is now 0-4 in major finals. His loss meant that the British tournament has now gone 76 years without a champion from its own nation.
Like Sampras and Federer, William Renshaw also won seven Wimbledon titles in the 1880s, when champions were given a bye into the following year’s final.