This morning Andy Murray is $1.9m better off after [finally] winning a Grand Slam and in doing so has ended Britain’s 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion with an epic victory over Novak Djokovic in the US Open final.   Murray, 25, emulated Fred Perry’s 1936 achievement, winning 7-6 (12-10) 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2 in four hours 54 minutes in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York.  Beating the world number two and defending champion makes him the first British man to win an Olympic gold and the US Open in the same year.

It was incredible that Murray served out the championship 76 years to the day – on the same court – that Perry won the first of eight major singles crowns but I should imagine the 4 hours and 54 minutes that it took were the longest of his life!

Murray had plenty of noteworthy fans in the stands cheering him on, including a pair of Scots who crashed his news conference after his semi-final: actor Sean Connery and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.   Also spotted in the crowd were Patrick Stewart and Kevin Spacey.

For the last few points everyone was on their feet, desperately hoping that they were just about to witness something special and for once they weren’t disappointed.  As Andy sank to his knees, the relief on his face was palpable and I swear there was just the smallest hint of a smile on his face.  He did say in his post match interview that he was “smiling on the inside” but as usual it didn’t quite make it to his mouth!

A fabulous end to a great summer of sport for the UK and a belief that maybe, just maybe, we’re getting better at this sport malarkey!

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