Friday, 21 June 2013 03:18
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Reuters: There will be an unfamiliar whiff of British success in the air at Wimbledon this year when Andy Murray, and thousands of patriotic fans, will try to stop the party-pooping antics of champions Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal.
Tennis’s so called ‘Big Three’ have lorded over Wimbledon ever since Federer won the first of his record-equalling seven titles in 2003, slamming the door shut on any pretender who threatened to gatecrash their invitation-only, VIP party.
Eleven months ago, however, Murray demonstrated that peering in from the outside year after year was no longer an option as he smashed the gilded cage the trio had built around themselves by winning an Olympic gold on the hallowed turf.
Murray’s euphoric triumph at the All England Club, albeit at the London Games, offered a glimmer of hope that an end might finally be in sight for Britain’s interminable wait for a home-grown men’s champion at Wimbledon.
That hope intensified tenfold when Murray hoisted the U.S. Open trophy weeks later with a heart-pumping, nerve-jangling, five-set win over Serbian Djokovic at Flushing Meadows.
That win means that for the first time in 77 years a reigning British male grand-slam champion will amble in to the manicured grounds in southwest London when the club throws open its immaculately-painted gates for the start of the 2013 championships on Monday.
The last time such an event occurred was when Fred Perry showed up in 1936 to complete his hat-trick of Wimbledon wins before turning professional.
Since Perry captured the last of his eight grand-slam titles at the 1936 U.S. Championships, 286 majors had come and gone without a British men’s champion in sight.
