WIMBLEDON belonged to Andy Murray once more as the Scot defeated Milos Raonic to win his second title at the All England Club.
Murray gave a masterclass to beat the big-serving Canadian 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2), and clinch his third Grand Slam title in his 11th final.
The 29-year-old’s success came in his first Grand Slam final back with coach Ivan Lendl since his 2013 Wimbledon success and maintained the dominance of the big four.
At the moment of victory, Murray dropped his racket to the Centre Court grass before leaping in the air in celebration of another piece of British sporting history.
Clutching the trophy to his chest, he told Sue Barker: “This is obviously the most important tournament for me every year. I’ve had some great moments here and some tough losses and the wins feel extra special because of that.
“I’m proud to get my hands on the trophy again. I played really good stuff today but Milos has had some great matches on the grass.”
For the third time in his career, Murray walked out to a wall of Centre Court noise on finals day. For his opponent, of course, this was all new.
In this era where career longevity among the top players is the norm, Raonic still counts as belonging to the new generation at 25 years old, and he has never been afraid of stating his belief that he could challenge for the sport’s greatest honours.
With the help of John McEnroe, hired to help him during the grass-court season but again commentating on the match for TV, Raonic has come out of his shell and his five-set win over Roger Federer in the semi-finals felt like a watershed moment.
The key question was how he would handle the occasion, and Murray pointedly kept him waiting, but there were no real signs of nerves as Raonic immediately hit 139 miles per hour with his big weapon.
Murray was dialled in straight away on the return and Raonic, who had lost only five service games in the tournament, found himself under near constant pressure.
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He saved a break point in the third game, which was saved by Raonic, but when two more arrived four games later, Murray pounced. Raonic for once was tentative on his approach shot and netted a forehand volley.
Of Murray’s 10 previous Slam finals, two of which came this year, three had been against Federer and seven against Novak Djokovic, but being the favourite for the first time had not given him the jitters.
He has an excellent record against big servers and looked totally confident that he had the game and the game plan to emulate his 2013 triumph.
It was almost deja vu as Murray pulled off a series of trademark dipping passing shots to force a break point in the seventh game of the second set, but he missed one at the crucial moment and Raonic escaped.
The Canadian must have shaken his head in disbelief in his next service game when Murray not only returned a 147mph serve, the equal second fastest ever at Wimbledon, but won the point.
However, the Scot was falling short when it came to taking his hard-won chances and two more break points went begging, making it only one converted from five opportunities.
Murray would have hoped to avoid tie-breaks, having lost four of his previous five against Raonic, but this one would be different.
The world number two won the first three points and then moved 4-1 and two mini-breaks ahead with some staggering defence, even by his standards, followed by a forehand winner. It was a hammer blow to Raonic and a second serve on to the line clinched the set.
Even when Raonic did create an opening, bringing up his first two break points at 2-2 in the third, it was ultimately still a disheartening moment as Murray saved them both, with the Scot determined not to offer his opponent any encouragement.
To his credit, Raonic kept Murray and an expectant Centre Court crowd at bay to force another tie-break, but the world number two was not about to be denied. He was utterly ruthless in winning the first five points, and at 6-1 he had five match points. He needed only two, clinching victory when Raonic netted a backhand.
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