Roger and out: Murray lost the war with Federer, but did Andy win the battle for English hearts?

The Crying Scotsman: Andy Murray after his defeat yesterday

ANDY MURRAY may not quite have ended the 78-year British hunt for a Wimbledon champion. But he certainly ended the churlish “he’s just a dour Scot” attitude of the very average home counties English tennis fan.

After taking the first set with some panache, Murray was simply unable to stop the master Roger Federer from taking the next three as he equalled Pete Sampras’s record of SEVEN men’s singles’ titles with a rain-interupted 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 triumph.

Murray, with both Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish first minister Alex Salmond watching beneath the Centre Court roof – which should have been closed from the start to avoid the rain break – was a man under extreme pressure. Even David Beckham and the missus turned up. Now THAT is pressure.

Widely disliked for his off-hand attitude and his droll humour, Murray produced the best for last… with a tear-stained post-match interview at the hands of a sympathetic Mrs Tennis, Sue Barker.

For a few seconds he was fine: “I’m getting closer!” he japed, to rapturous applause from inside the stadium and the soacked masses on Murray Mount.

Then: “Firstly I’d like to congratulate Roger. After I won my semi-final I thought: ‘This is my best chance’. Roger’s not bad for a 30-year-old with a bad back! He’s still got a lot of fight left and he deserved it.”

But then Britain’s first finalist since Bunny Austin in 1938 (we won’t mention Fred Perry, our last winner in 1936) finally cracked: “I’m going to try this but it’s going to be difficult.”

Between racking sobs and flurries of tears to match the monsoon-like British summer, he said: “I’m going to try not to look at them because I’ll start crying again. But everyone in that corner who supported me through this tournament did a great job, so thank you.”

So Murray has now lost FOUR Grand Slam finals. One in New York two years ago, two on the trot in Melbourne… and an historic tilt at Wimbledon which might just have come off had he claimed one of several break points at 2-2 and 5-5 in the second set.

Federer’s mastery – he has been responsible for three of those four major defeats - became apparent at the end of the second when, having grabbed a break-point for the first time at 6-5, he grabbed the levelling set with two superb drop shots.

The Swiss darling of Wimbledon – with a mum from Kempton Park, Johannesburg – kept the post-match applause alive when he said: “Andy’s done so well over the years, he’s been so consistent. To me it shows he cares so much. I’m sure will win at least one Grand Slam.”

With this win taking him back to the world No1 spot ahead of Novak Djokovic, the man he beat in the semi-final on Friday, Federer said: “I played some of my best tennis in these last two games. That’s why I love Wimbledon.”

And SW19 loves Roger Federer. And, from this moment forth, the Crying Scotsman, St Andrew Murray.

Murray v Federer: Expect no logic from long-suffering Wimbledon fans

Hot Scot: Murray complete with Saltire cross

TOMORROW in and around the London postcode of SW19, life will not be normal. It hasn’t been normal for years of course. This time, we are talking extraordinary conditions during the gloomiest of British summers with black market tickets selling for 15,000 pounds.

Amidst record-breaking rainfall and bank-breaking recession, the long-suffering locals have a British player to follow for the first time since Bunny Austin got to the Wimbledon men’s final in 1938.

Reading through the social networks as the kilted Andrew Murray saw off popular Congolese Frenchman Jo Wilfried Tsonga in his historic semi-final win on Friday, it’s clear foreigners just don’t get it.

For the last week of June and the first week of July, people in the Southfields area generally rent their houses out for vastly inflated prices when the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club bring their championships to the borough of Merton as they have since 1877.

Crowds gather, from dawn till dusk. They camp overnight, come rain or (occasional) shine. And ever since the second World War, they have NEVER had a local to cheer.

The women used to do okay. Anne Jones and, as “recently” as 1977, Virginia Wade have won the ladies’ event. But even Ginny learned to play the game in South Africa, where she lived until the age of 15 when her dad was Archdeacon of Durban. The accented twang aside, she was British when she won in Jubilee year.

But it’s the five-set thrillers of the men’s game which really draws the crowds to the now-roofed, rain-proof, night-defying Centre Court.

And the pain of post-war Wimbledon has been acute. Through my early years, the Aussie dominated 60s, the Bjorn Borg/John McEnroe/Jimmy Connors led 70s and 80s – when South African-Americans Johan Kriek and Kevin Curran went close – and on to the early 90s, Britain were lucky to get a competititor beyond the first week of action. Andrew Castle once took Mats Wilander to five sets in the first round. He lost of course, but lived on that "success" for years, converting it into a television presenters' job.

Jeremy Bates produced a couple of miraculous quarter-final appearances, the Swede Stefan Edberg lived in nearby Fulham, Boris Becker became a sort of honorary Brit, dozens of young English hopefuls came and went.

And then Tim Henman emerged. His grandmother was the first to serve overhand in the women’s game. His grandfather was the first to wear short trousers on court. He was born with a raquet in his hand in the land which gave birth to tennis (and football, cricket, rugby, golf etc etc) and again, with Canadian Greg Rusedski changing flags, we had a man (or two) in week two on a regular basis.

But for all the squeaky roars of “Come on Tim” and the Jokeresque smile of Greg, Centre Court on the second Sunday eluded the British. Inexplicably, tennis belonged to the hairy Greek American Pete Sampras or the hairless Italian American Andre Agassi.

Then came Murray. Dour, skinny, unquestionably Scottish. His intimidating mother Judy, the curious tale of the Dunblane shootings, that brief early outburst when Andy told us he hoped England’s football team got stuffed (he was just saying what all Scots really think) didn’t really lead to a warm relationship between the home-counties Wimbledon faithful.

And even when he saw off Tsonga on Friday, the critics were at it. Murray, asked if he thought of the pressure his parents were going through in the stands, said: “I’m not really bothered, it’s tougher for me.” Asked if he would explain the finger he pointed at the sky, he grumbled: “No,that’s private.”

And the tweeters got stuck in to our Scottish hero, the latest in a long line which goes back to William Wallace, Bonnie Prince Charlie and erm… Graeme Souness, Gordon Brown, Billy Connolly and Rod Stewart.

For those born outside the sceptred isles, it’s hard to understand the antipathy between the English and the Celts. Ireland, Scotland and Wales are British, but never English. For years, the English loved to bully their neighbours. What Oliver Cromwell did to the Irish, wiping out nearly a quarter of the population, can never been forgotten. What various English armies did north of Hadrian’s wall, banning the kilt and imprisoning the locals, rankles too.

But today the United Kingdom will be united by a scrawny Scot with a tennis racquet. We can go back to John "Evert" Lloyd in 1977 in Australia and Greg Rusedski in 1997 in New York for previous Grand Slam finalists.

But this will be Murray’s fourth shot, after a US Open final and Aussie Open finals in 2010 and 2011. All failures, but not bad going for a lad who was asked, at 15, to join Rangers Football Club. Bet he’s glad he opted for smaller balls now.

Murray goes in to the final against the much-decorated Swiss giant Roger Federer, the darling of Centre Court for more than a decade, insisting: "It's a great challenge, one where I'm probably not expected to win the match, but one that, if I play well, I'm capable of winning.

"If you look at his record here over the past 10 years or so, it's been incredible. So the pressure that I would be feeling, if it was against somebody else, I guess it would be different. There will be less on me on Sunday because of who he is."

Murray mania: tomorrow's Independent

Federer, heading inexorably for a seventh Wimbledon title after his brilliant semi-final triumph over World No1 Novak Djokovic, says: "Britain reminds me a bit of Australia because you don't have the amount of players they have in France or America, so the focus is more on one player, maybe a couple.

"I think what is so particular about this country is that there's so much attention on that one player, which is Andy Murray. Let's be happy that he's such a great player that he lets that sort of hype last. He will only get better.”

But when the Fed Express with the mum from Kempton Park, South Africa takes on the Dunblane survivor and Henman Hill/Rusedski Ridge/Murray Mount starts cheering in the rain, remember his: There will be no logic behind the British passion for Andy. Just 78 years of history. And I haven’t even mentioned Fred Perry.

Mother Nature helps out, but England's reign is nearly at an end in this series

AND so Mother Nature steps in where umpire Daryl Harper won't, with another merciful downpour for England, halting South Africa's rush to victory in the final Test at the Wanderers.

Twelve minutes earlier than yesterday, at 2.01pm local time, noon in England, the rain came down, the lightning flashed (right), this huge 30,000 crowd scurried for cover.

But unlike yesterday, the worst of it moved slowly around the ground. Instead of a flooded outfield and desperate workers with squeegees, we have a far less dramatic show of drying going on in front of us.

The covers are off and soon they will be back, these South Africans, eager to push on and get England back at the crease.

At the moment, South Africa are 382-6, 202 ahead of England's modest first innings total of 180.

Just when South African captain Graeme Smith will declare, we aren't sure. But he did say to us last night: "We'll be looking to push the lead to around 200. That's a good score if the pitch is doing things and the weather continues."

He's right. This game is over if the rain stays away. England have been easily cowed in this final showdown. Earlier in this absorbing series, they showed that iron resistance, the stiff-upper-lip we Brits love to see.

But Johannesburg has been different. England went into this Test 1-0 up in the series, but only after hanging on by a wicket to draw in Centurion and Cape Town. In between, we had the best of the conditions in Durban and won by an innings and 98 runs.

But in truth, as Smith and his men have pointed out so many times, most of the sessions have been won by South Africa in this series. They deserve to draw 1-1 and retain the Basil D'Oliviera trophy they won in England last time they visited our shores.

And they will. England made a couple of early breakthroughs this morning but they failed to capitalise, allowing Mark Boucher and AB De Villiers to shove England off the rails again.

But they needed a fair bit of luck to put on 120 in 30 overs for the sixth wicket at a rate of just over four an over.

Twice Harper, the television umpire who failed to hear Graeme Smith's snick yesterday (he was on 15 at the time, he went on to get 105, have a look at earlier posts), allowed De Villiers to bat on after being given out by New Zealander Tony Smith.

Harper also turned down Graeme Swann's plea for the wicket of Mark Boucher, LBW. Harper was right each time. But he seems to be England's bogeyman right now, with every decision going South Africa's way.

England made a good start this morning. First Hashim Amla, looking set for his second century of the series on 75, was out on the tenth ball of the day, caught behind by Matt Prior off a superb ball from Stuart Broad.

Six balls later, Jacques Kallis was gone, brilliantly taken by Jimmy Anderson on the dive off Ryan Sidebottom. Getting Kallis for 7 was a big bonus for England and at 217-4 the tails were up.

After a brief lull, Andrew Strauss turned to Swann, as he has all series, for the breakthrough. And with his first ball - it's becoming a habit - he had JP "Crash Test" Duminy caught by Collingwood and it was 235-5.

Swann then had De Villiers given out twice - on 11 and 24 - by umpire Hill. But De Villiers called for a review both times. The close catch on 11 may or may not have brushed the bat, the lbw on 24 was not out.

But given that shocker yesterday - Harper failed to hear the Smith snick which echoed around the cricket-speaking world - you might expect a bit of help from the man!

De Villiers also survived having the ball come to rest against his stumps without removing a bail (much to Paul Collingwood's chagrin) and a further clear glove behind, made it through to lunch with 43 off 99 balls, the always-dangerous Mark Boucher went to his fifty just before lunch after surviving Swann's LBW review.

At 324-5 at the break, South Africa were 144 ahead. De Villiers' luck finally ran out on 58, caught by Collingwood, and Broad had his third wicket of the innings. But Boucher carried on and passed his best-ever Test score at the "Bull Ring" - 78 - with debutant Ryan McLaren in support.

But just as the huge gathering here were really getting going, the rain came down. But now the covers are off and the final session can begin. It won't be long, I suspect, before Graeme Smith gets England out there to face their fury under heavy skies.

Meanwhile Harper - backed by the ICC this morning - has turned to Facebook to justify his position.

After yesterday's knob-twiddling sensation he posted these quotes on his site: "The truth about Smith's decision may come out eventually. The host broadcaster didn't provide the appropriate sound to match the picture. The commentator, Matthew Hoggard, told the viewers that there was no sound - so Smith would be given not out.
"Sadly when the technology fails... and that means that some engineer has failed to do his job... they must find a scapegoat, and the umpire is an easy target because we can't fight back... usually.

"Five minutes later, they found a sound and blamed me! Other networks found the sound immediately, but we didn't get their sound feed."

Good defence Daryl, but how about coming to speak to us in the press box. Just a gentle chat. If you can comment on Facebook, surely you can talk to the journalists?

England, without any reviews left, have asked the ICC to reinstate the one wasted during the Smith controversy yesterday.

Boxing Day Test: Day One: England's day as South Africa scuttle off for the light

AS the clouds closed in and the floodlights went on at 3.10pm local time, the Boxing Day Test in Durban veered England's way at Kingsmead today.

At 175-5 this was a triumph for the visitors after the mind-numbing boredom of South Africa's earlier domination with the bat.

The magnificent sight of the home side scuttling for cover before the rain came down was entirely unexpected. As was the state of most of the 17,364 fans, very few of whom were wearing bikinis (my wife doesn't like the thought of women in swimsuits at cricket games).

England, dominant in the first ten overs when they Jimmy Anderson got rid of Ashwell Prince and Stuart Broad trapped Hashim Amla - both for two - struggled in the burning heat and humidity in an apparently endless spell from an hour before lunch to just after tea.

But then the clouds rolled in and weary England began to respond. Jacques Kallis, the world's No10 batsman but a supremely boring proponent of the art, was snaffled by Graeme Swann. His edge to Paul Collingwood's welcoming hands ended his resistance at 75 off 132 balls.

Together, he and Smith put on exactly 15o for the third wicket and put most of the crowd into a drink induced coma, with beer queues stretching around the ground as innocent cricket fans sought solace.

Together, Kallis and Smith, top of the pile in the under-appreciated Boring Test Rankings sponsored by Slumberland, appeared to have put their nation on top, though the locals showed little appreciation, apart from the odd snarl when Kevin Pietersen was put on to bowl his off-spinners in a moment of madness from captain Andrew Strauss. We also wheeled out Jonathan Trott, testament to the paucity of our bowling attack having stuck with struggling Ian Bell when we could have enlisted another seamer in Sidebottom.

But then the wickets began to tumble. Next up? Smith. He derided Kevin Pietersen for his ridiculous run-out on 81 in Centurion, but what was this? AB De Villiers, looking good, ran down the wicket when his captain dropped one into the off-side. Smith started to accelerate, then turned around like one of those tankers off the Indian Ocean coast here.

For Englishmen, particularly the ever-hopeful Barmy Army who numbered about 3,000 at Kingsmead today, the sight of Cook running in to beat the dive was something to celebrate.

Gone for 75 off a very boring 186 balls. But better than Centurion, where Smith failed in both innings.

South Africa were suddenly 166-4 and the two big barriers were down.

England sensed that, the tails went up, and there was time for Graham Onions, who bowled well all day, to trap the once-dangerous JP Duminy leg before for four.

South Africa were 170-5, they'd lost three wickets for ten. And they ran for cover. Brilliant! With the floodlights on, a home side with guts might have tried to carry on. But Smith and coach Mickey Arthur encouraged the puny Proteas to scurry for the dressing room. England captain Andrew Strauss complained and put on his spinners but they were offered the light... and took it. How weak and pathetic is that with rain forecast for tomorrow!

There was a brief shower, a couple of very drunk pitch invaders hoping to slide on the covers were severely manhandled by the stewards. But predictably, though the light was reasonable under the floodlights at 4.35pm local time, the umpires were unable to encourage the groundsman to remove the covers. Day one is over. Play will start at 9.30am tomorrow morning.

And with the South Africans cowering, this is surely England's day, though Smith and Kallis made them suffer in the sun. The home side, knowing how dark it gets in Durban, how much rain they are having this summer, should have shown a bit of stiff-upper lip.

But they just haven't got it these lads. Head for the dressing room! Swannie's bowling another bomb! Pathetic! The only South Africans with any fight are punching eachother, drunk, in Kingsmead's notorious Castle Corner, perhaps frustrated with their side's lack of spirit.

My Living With The Lions party, pictured above, will be looking forward to skittling this mardy lot tomorrow. As long as it doesn't rain. Right now, at 5pm local time, the light is as good as it's been all day. And the South Africans are headed back to the Hilton Hotel with me. How very, very cowardly.