体坛英语新闻：Murray ends Britain's 77-year wait to claim Wimbledon title

LONDON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Local hero Andy Murray became the first Briton in 77 years to raise the men's trophy at the Wimbledon Championships after beating top seed Novak Djokovic in straight sets on Sunday.

After squandering three match points, the second seed finally ended the gruelling 3-hour, 9-minute match, beating the Serbian world No. 1 Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in front of the cheering crowds.

The last time a Briton claimed a title at Wimbledon was in 1936 when Fred Perry also won the men's singles final.

The 26-year-old Murray started ecstatic celebration after sealing the victory. He threw away his racket and cap, clenched his fists and roared towards the sky. Then he knelt down and buried his face in hands.

"That last game will be the toughest game I'll play in my career. Ever," said Murray after the match. "Winning Wimbledon - I still can't believe it. Can't get my head around that. I can't believe it."

"At the end of the match, I didn't quite know what was going on. Just a lot of different emotions," the Scot added.

Although winning the final in straight sets, Murray went through a tough and exhausting match on Sunday. After winning the first set in 6-4, he trailed 4-1 in the second set and 4-2 in the third. But Murray managed to rally back in both sets, defeating six-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic who enjoyed a 11-7 head-to-head advantage.

"He was getting some incredible shots on the stretch and running down the drop shots," Djokovic said. "He was all over the court. I wasn't patient enough."

The Serb, who famously ate blades of grass after winning Wimbledon in 2011, made 40 unforced errors on Sunday night while Murray only had 21.

Murray could have ended Britain's title drought in Wimbledon one year earlier, but lost to Roger Federer of Switzerland 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in the final of 2012. One month later the Scot tasted sweet revenge as he beat Federer in the Olympic final to won the gold medal in London.

On Sept. 10, 2012, Murray beat defending champion Djokovic in a five-set US Open final lasting nearly five hours to win his first Grand Slam victory.

Murray dedicated his historic Wimbledon win to coach Ivan Lendl, the Czech who won eight Grand Slam titles but never in Wimbledon.

"He just said that he was proud of me, which obviously coming from him means a lot. He doesn't smile in public too much, but when he's away from the crowds and the cameras he's a very different character," said Murray of Lendl.

"I just think for him, obviously ideally he would have won it himself, but I think this was the next best thing for him. I'm saying it seriously.

"He believed in me when a lot of people didn't. He stuck by me through some tough losses the last couple of years. He's been very patient with me. I'm just happy I managed to do it for him."