The former king of tennis is back in his rightful spot, as a locked-in Roger Federer ousted challenger Andy Murray in four sets (4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4) to pick up his unprecedented 17th career Grand Slam championship on Sunday.
Now tied with his one-time idol Pete Sampras with seven Wimbledon men's titles, Federer also managed to overtake both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal for the No. 1 overall ranking in the sport. Now the third different man to win a major championship in 2012, Federer's victory and ensuing shakeup of the rankings certainly makes things quite interesting as we creep closer to next month's can't-miss U.S. Open.
Though he posed a stout challenge and showed an improved level of intensity early on, Murray ultimately couldn't overcome the wall he hit in the third and pivotal set. After losing an improbable 26-point game before giving way in the third, the visibly-frustrated 25-year-old never mounted the same type of threat again while Federer's flawless groundstrokes took center stage. Murray spoke to fans in what proved to be a sad, teary-eyed speech after the match, but clearly made huge strides with his performance in Sunday's final and throughout the tournament.
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