Britain's wait for a men's Wimbledon singles champion will stretch into a 77th year after Roger Federer beat Andy Murray 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 in the final.
Murray loses a fourth Grand Slam final but this one was different
Britain's wait for a men's Wimbledon singles champion will stretch into a 77th year after Roger Federer beat Andy Murray 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 in the final.
It was a fourth straight Grand Slam final defeat for Murray but unlike on the three previous occasions - when he had not won a set - he played superbly and contributed to a thrilling and unpredictable contest.
The Scot led by a set and had break points to lead 6-5 in the second, but Federer was able to steady himself before lifting his game to almost incredible levels in the third and fourth sets.
The Swiss star was simply magnificent as he claimed his 17th Grand Slam title and his seventh at Wimbledon, equalling Pete Sampras' record.
Murray will surely come again and next time he will surely not face such a remarkable adversary in such stunning form.
Murray was the first British player to reach this final since Bunny Austin in 1938, two years after Fred Perry's last title, and he looked on course for a stunning victory when he won the opening set.
The Scot was aggressive from the first point and it was Federer making the simple errors and it cost him as a forehand volley over the baseline handed Murray a break in the opening game.
Federer quickly settled and took his chance to level at 2-2, drawing a backhand error from Murray.
The Swiss forced two break points in the eighth game but Murray held firm, finding the corner with a pinpoint volley on the second, and he got his rewards in the next game.
The fourth seed played a shot straight out of the book of his coach Ivan Lendl when he drilled a shot right at Federer's head, and Murray broke to lead 5-4 when his opponent netted a forehand.
The crowd were on their feet, and the home hope served it out confidently.
But, as big as winning the first set was, there was still an awfully long way to go, and Federer came out firing at the start of the second with a hold to love.
The Swiss then engineered another break point on the Murray serve but, once again, the 25-year-old showed a cool head when it mattered most, forcing an error on the Federer backhand.
It was a big hold for Murray, and he continued to make life very difficult for Federer, creating break points in the fifth and ninth games but coming up just short.
The crowd sensed their man was close to taking a real stranglehold on the match, but Federer is not the most successful grand slam player for nothing and, with Murray serving at 6-5 behind, he forced a set point.
Perfect point
The Swiss usually lifts his game at such moments and he did so again, playing a perfect point, finishing it with a sublime drop volley.
It was a very painful set to lose for Murray so it seemed to the advantage of the Scot when the heavens opened at 1-1 in the third and the players were forced off for around 40 minutes while the roof was closed.
The general view before the match had been an indoor final would suit the Federer, taking the wind out of the equation and allowing him to take the ball even earlier.
He certainly looked fired up, and Murray was not helped by two heavy falls in the sixth game.
The second gave Federer a break point and, although Murray saved that one, the pressure was relentless and on his sixth chance of an epic game, the Swiss broke through.
Murray's second serve had been one of the keys to his run to the final but he was struggling to win points with it against Federer and needed to improve his first-serve percentage.
The Scot threw everything at his opponent when he served for the set but it was not enough and Federer held to go two sets to one in front.
Murray faced a massively uphill struggle, especially the way Federer was playing. The Swiss had only lost one grand slam final from two sets to one up, against Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open in 2009.
Murray almost made the perfect start to the third set when he had a chance to break in the second game but he missed an attempted pass by millimetres.
And his hopes took another huge blow when Federer broke again to lead 3-2, nailing an imperious backhand pass that left Murray rooted to the spot.
The crowd willed their man to a break when Federer served for the match, but it was not to be, the 30-year-old clinching victory on his second match point after three hours and 24 minutes when Murray hit a return just wide.
The Scot sat in his chair disconsolate as Federer savoured being back on top of the world, joining Rod Laver and Arthur Ashe in winning the Wimbledon title past his 30th birthday.
Murray joins his coach Ivan Lendl in having lost his first four slam finals. The consolation for Murray is that Lendl went on to win eight.
