- British No 1 Andy Murray beat Milos Raonic on Centre Court 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) on Sunday afternoon
- Victory for Murray clinched his third career Grand Slam title and second overall at Wimbledon
- Wimbledon 2016 final: All the action as it happened as Andy Murray celebrates second SW19
Andy Murray was sobbing in his chair and up in the stands even old granite face himself, Ivan Lendl, was red-eyed and struggling to suppress the tears.
Four weeks to the day after the hurried announcement of their reunion, the dividend was being collected, and it had nothing to do with the £2million cheque that would be discreetly delivered in the locker room, the Wimbledon way.
The currency Murray wants to deal in are the major titles that tennis has to offer, and what a downpayment this was on the decision to bring Lendl back.
Andy Murray holds aloft the Gentlemen's Singles Trophy after being crowned this year's Wimbledon champion on Sunday afternoon
Murray kisses the trophy after defeating Canadian Milos Raonic in straight sets to win his second Wimbledon title
Murray hugs the trophy after becoming the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon singles titles since Fred Perry in 1935
Murray is congratulated by Raonic after beating the 25-year-old Canadian 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) on Sunday afternoon
Murray was a picture of delight after winning his match point to win his second Wimbledon title on Sunday afternoon
The realisation of his amazing achievement dawned on Murray shortly after and the Brit found it difficult to hold back the tears
The 29-year-old's tears were visible as he sat down on his chair to listen to the acclaim of the British public in attendance
The victory was particularly poignant for Ivan Lendl - who had reunited with Murray as his coach shortly before the start of Wimbledon
Murray proved too strong for his Canadian opponent as he prevailed to win the second Wimbledon title of his career
Despite his monstrous serve, Raonic's explosive power was unable to blast Murray off Centre Court in Sunday's contest
Yet, as both of them have stressed, it is the 29-year-old Scot who crosses the white line, the one who plays the points. It was he, blessed with his array of physical gifts, who deconstructed the power game of Milos Raonic and made it look barely more difficult than peeling an onion.
Murray’s 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 victory over the 6ft 5in Canadian was not the most dramatic Wimbledon final of recent vintage, but it was an absolute masterclass of its type. So good was it that we were denied the hypertension of that final game when he beat Novak Djokovic three years previously. It did not sound like the Centre Court felt short-changed.
Victory elevates Murray to the list of 12 who have won Wimbledon twice since the game went fully ‘open’ in 1968. It features the best of recent times, with the only notable absentees being Jim Courier, Mats Wilander and, ironically, Lendl.
In the more immediate context, the world No 2 has either won or reached the final of his last five tournaments, all of them significant. It is the form of someone who is going to win plenty more
When Murray and Raonic come to SW19 next year, one of them, surely, will be arriving as Sir Andy Murray and the other will be an even more potent threat than he is now, such is his evident improvement.
For now he does not have the answers to the questions that the Scot is able to ask of him, or any other opponent.
Murray’s extraordinary skills were backed up with a resolve intangibly boosted by the solemn presence of Lendl, perched at the end of his support bench.
It was a metaphor that the one time of the afternoon Murray raged was when, at the end of the second set, Lendl needed a comfort break under the weight of sips he had been taking from his water bottle.
But as the 56-year-old Czech said on the eve of this tournament in his inimitable way — ‘I suck at teaching technique’ — he is not the source of the sheer excellence in Murray’s game that he brought to bear under the greatest pressure.
The world No 2 stretches to hit a backhand during a close first set, which Murray eventually won, on Centre Court
Murray's wife, Kim, watches on from his player's box as the action unfolded at SW19 on Sunday afternoon
The Royal Box at Centre Court was filled to the brim - including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as Sadiq Khan (back, left)
Boris Becker (centre), a three-time Wimbledon champion and the current coach of world No 1, Novak Djokovic, enjoys the action
American comedian Ellen DeGeneres was another in attendance on Centre Court - just 24 hours after watching the women's final there
The aspect that most caught the eye was the way he skewered Raonic on his abundant forays to the net. With sublime timing, Murray was able to flick his wrists on the backhand to viciously loop the ball over the net on a downward trajectory and leave his opponent flailing at volleys that suddenly became half-volleys.
As for Murray’s forehand, the errors on it did not even make it into the plural. The official unforced error count was 12 from the 217 points played. The figures spew out in testament to a great performance.
Raonic’s thunderbolt serve, delivered by an unusual physique that makes his long legs look like they reach his tummy button, was meant to be the defining factor. Yet it was Murray’s serve that dominated and he went unbroken, only having to save two break points.
The brilliance of his return meant Raonic served only eight aces, compared to his tournament average of 23 per match.
Although using the full repertoire at his disposal, three out four of those monster deliveries were pinged back at him, even with the speed hitting 141mph. The racket looks like a cocktail stick in Raonic’s hand and in the first game one serve came in just 2mph shy of that. It was clear he was not overwhelmed by the occasion of trying to become the first Canadian to win a major.
Murray stretches every sinew in his body to hit a booming serve past Raonic in the first set on Sunday
Murray fires himself up as the majority of the Centre Court crowd get behind the passionate home favourite on Sunday
The two-time champion Murray celebrates winning a point during his Wimbledon final encounter against Raonic
But Murray forced a break point at 1-1 and two more at 3-3, the second of which was executed when Raonic prodded his forehand into the net.
Uncharacteristically, Murray was having problems with his ball toss, the false starts caused by the sun and a surprisingly strong wind.
Raonic could make no impression against his serve, but will have started to believe it could be his day when Murray missed his fourth break point of the second set at 4-4, with two of those lesser-spotted errors.
In the TV commentary booth, Raonic’s consultant coach John McEnroe insisted his man was ready to pounce, but Murray fended off the advance.
Even then, the younger Murray might have let his frustrations affect him in the tiebreak, but instead he gave the 25 year-old a schooling in the rarefied art of playing them. He got his first serves in and kept the ball deep, as he did all afternoon.
Raonic is a picture of a concentration as he tries to crunch a forehand return straight back at Murray and rescue the match
Murray rises high to block another booming serve from Raonic back into court during the Wimbledon final
The world No 2 roared with delight as he closed in on another Grand Slam title during the final of the 2016 edition of Wimbledon
There was no way back for Raonic after he was fooled by a wonderfully disguised backhand down the line for 5-1. That metronomic backhand was a huge difference between them.
Murray played his way out of trouble when Raonic got his two break points at 2-2 in the third, forcing first a forehand then a backhand error.
The second tiebreak was even more straightforward. The final point, at 6-2, saw a drive to the corner result in his opponent putting the ball into the net. That was something else the match had in common with his 2013 triumph over Djokovic, which ended in similar fashion.
The score tells you that three years ago it was easier, but it never felt like it.
Somewhere the world No 1 may have been watching — his coach, Boris Becker, certainly was, up in the Royal Box. Seeing how Djokovic responds to another remarkable Wimbledon fortnight could define the next few years in men’s tennis.
