By Chris Oddo

(August 5, 012)—Andy Murray put forth the performance of a lifetime beneath sunny skies on Wimbledon’s Centre Court Sunday, dominating Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and fifty-six minutes.

The victory puts a damper on Federer’s hopes of achieving the career Golden Slam, as the 17-time Grand Slam champion will be 34 when the Olympics are next played in Brazil in 2016.

For Murray, who was resplendent from start to finish and in every aspect, the victory is a coming out party for a player who has long been knocking at the door of tennis superstardom, only to be perpetually denied by the likes of Federer, Djokovic and Nadal, who have won 29 of the last 30 Grand Slam titles.

But today, as legions of flag-waving Murray supporters made themselves heard, there was no denying the 25-year-old four-time Grand Slam runner-up his day in the sun. From the moment the Scotsman broke Federer in the first set to take a 4-2 lead, Murray’s vice-like grip on the match’s momentum took hold.

It did not slip.

Murray took off on a nine-game rampage of exquisite, aggressive tennis, and he didn’t stop until he found himself safely in front with a 5-0 lead in the second set.
 
The back-breaking game came earlier in that second set, when Murray denied Federer on six separate break point chances to hold for a 3-0 lead.

In the next game, Federer would double-fault to hand Murray a double-break lead, sealing the second set for all intents and purposes.

From there, Murray only seemed to get stronger—he lashed many a backhand pass past a charging Federer, moved with abandon and precision, and served big when he had to—while Federer, who made 31 unforced errors on the afternoon to Murray’s 17, seemed to lose belief.

In total, Federer missed out on all nine of his break point opportunities, but he did not see a single opportunity in the final set which saw Murray win a dazzling 20 of 21 points on serve.

In the bronze medal match, an emotionally charged Juan Martin del Potro became Argentina’s first medal winner in men’s singles when he defeated Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4.

(Photo Credit: Stefan Wermuth/ Reuters)