Roger Federer

Dashing the hopes of a British win in over seven decades, Swiss legend Roger Federer beat Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13-11) to win the 2010 Australian Open Men’s title on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Sydney Sunday.

This was 28-year-old Federer’s fourth Australian Open crown and 16th Grand Slam title. Federer had defeated Murray in the 2008 U.S. Open final.

Fred Perry, winner of the 1936 US Open, was the last Briton to win a grand slam singles title and the pressure of history weighed heavily on Murray’s mind all through the match, as was evident from his face.

The world number one reigned supreme over 22-year-old Murray almost throughout the final match, clinching the first two sets quite easily. He had two service breaks in the first set. Federer broke Murray’s serve in the third game of the second set and finished off the set with a forehand volley. In the third set, Murray took a 5-2 lead before Federer won three straight games and the tiebreaker followed.

Federer had 46 winners and 42 unforced errors during the match, while Murray hit 29 winners and produced 36 unforced errors.

Federal did not have an easy entry to the final, whereas Murray had lost only one set in six matches before the final. Also, Murray had a 6-4 career mark against Federer before the final.

Last year, Federer lost to Rafael Nadal in the final here and broke into tears when the trophy was handed over to Nadal.

Federer receives $1.86 million through the win, while Murray gets $927,990.