Andy Murray of Great Britain lifts the US Open championship trophy after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final on September 10, 2012 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York.

NEW YORK (TIP): Andy Murray won his first ever Grand Slam on Monday, September 10 night, defeating Novak Djokovic, 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 in the 2012 U.S. Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Flushing, NY. After a heartbreaking loss at Wimbledon, Murray responded with a strong tournament in Flushing, N.Y., to become the first British male to win a major in 76 years.

It had been 76 years since a British man won a Grand Slam singles championship and, at least as far as Murray was concerned, it was well worth the wait.
Ending a nation’s long drought, and snapping his own four-final skid in majors, Murray finally pulled through with everything at stake on a Grand Slam stage, shrugging off defending champion Djokovic’s comeback bid to win 7-6 (10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2.

“Novak is so, so strong. He fights until the end in every single match,” Murray said. “I don’t know how I managed to come through in the end.”

Yes, Murray already showed he could come up big by winning the gold medal in front of a home crowd at the London Olympics last month. But this was different. This was a Grand Slam tournament, the standard universally used to measure tennis greatness — and the 287th since Britain’s Fred Perry won the 1936 U.S. Championships, as the event was known back then