Andy Murray First Brit to Reach Wimbledon Final in 74 Years, Will Face Roger Federer

by NESN Staff on Sat, Jul 7, 2012 at 1:08AM

It had been 74 long years since a British man had reached the Wimbledon finals. Thanks to Andy Murray, British fans' long wait is finally over.

Murray, seeded fourth and the fourth-ranked player in the world, dispatched Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to advance to the championship match on Sunday.

The problem is that he'll be facing Roger Federer, only the arguable greatest player of all time, on what is considered Federer's best surface.

Federer has won six Wimbledon titles, and with one more will tie Pete Sampras for the most all-time. Murray, meanwhile, has never won a major, although he has been the runner-up on three occasions.

While the odds would seem to favor Federer — who felled world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four shockingly easy sets — Murray will have a massive homecourt advantage, with an entire country in his corner.

He has made it to the semifinals every year since 2009, but had previously always been stymied in his quest to end Britain's drought — losing first to Andy Roddick and then twice to Rafael Nadal.

Not only had Wimbledon not seen a British finalist in the gentleman's championship since Bunny Austin in 1938, but it has also not seen a British champion since Fred Perry won in 1936.

So the pressure is not quite off Murray yet, despite ending one significant drought. All that stands between him and history is a seemingly rejuvenated legend, but with all of Britain pulling for him, anything could happen.