Andy Murray Becomes First British Male Wimbledon Champion in 77 Years

Andy_Murray becomes forst man in 77 years to win Wimbledon. Andy Murray reached the “pinnacle of tennis” and became the first British man to be Wimbledon Champion in 77 years. After a brutal 3 hour and 10 minute match in blistering heat Murray finally won in straight sets 6-4 7-5 6-4 against his old (on-court) nemesis Novak Djokovic. It was the hottest day of the year and the temperatures reach 40C (104F) in the sun on Centre Court.

Murray, 26, received a standing ovation last night on Centre Court. He then broke down in tears of joy. Murray is now the first British man to take the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936, Many now think he is a shoo in for a Knighthood and also BBC Sport Personality of the Year.

After his win he kept up a Wimbledon tradition, sprinting towards the players’ box where he hugged members of “Team Murray” including girlfriend Kim, 25. He did, however, initially forgot to hug his mother, coming back to embrace her after hearing her ‘squealing’.

Murray later said the success would “take a little while to sink in. I don’t really know what to say just now. Winning Wimbledon I think is the pinnacle of tennis,”

“The last game almost increased that feeling… I worked so hard in that last game. It’s the hardest few points I’ve had to play in my life… I still can’t believe it.

“Can’t get my head around that. I can’t believe it.”

Murray had previously said that the  weight of public expectation made his life “very difficult”. But he thanked the crowd for their support.

It was different to last year’s final, for sure, and then (at) the end of the match, that was incredibly loud, very noisy. I’ve been saying it all week, but it does make a difference. It really helps when the crowd’s like that, the atmosphere is like that. Especially in a match as tough as that one, where it’s extremely hot, brutal, long rallies, tough games, they help you get through it.”

“I understand how much everyone else wanted to see a British winner at Wimbledon so I hope you guys enjoyed it, I did my best,”

Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond watched the historic sport event from the Royal Box. Gerald Butler, Bradley Cooper, Victoria Beckham also watched Andy win.

Although Murray is the first man to win since Fred Perry, four women won it in that time and have largely been written out of history. Including Virgina Wade. The Guardian Said, “Yep. Partially deaf player Angela Mortimer won the championship in 1961, and underdog Ann Haydon-Jones beat legend of the sport Billie Jean King to win again in 1969.” Writer Chloe Angyal, tweeted  “Murray is indeed the first Brit to win Wimbledon in 77 years unless you think women are people” It has been re-tweeted over 9,425 times.

 

 

 

Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray Make Who’s Who

Who’s Who in 2013?

The new edition of Who’s Who is out with some exciting new entries. Including some of Britain’s brightest athletes.

The 165th edition of Who’s Who brings together over 33,000 autobiographical entries from people of, influence and interest in every area of public life. Featuring just over 1,000 entries new for this edition, Who’s Who 2013, published on 3rd December 2012, celebrates the achievements of British Society. An invaluable research tool and a unique way of measuring social change, it is the longest established and most comprehensive general biographical reference book. An invitation to appear in Who’s Who recognises lasting distinction and influence. An entry in Who’s Who is for life.

Preface by Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief at the Huffington Post Media Group, is a new biographee for the 2013 edition. She has written this year’s foreword, in which she considers the ways in which technology is rapidly transforming the media.

Olympic Idols

Included for the first time in the 2013 edition is Heptathlon darling, Jessica Ennis, who won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games. At just 26 years old, her impressive resume includes an Olympic gold, two World Championship medals, two World Indoor Championship medals, a European Championship medal and a Commonwealth Games medal.

Double Olympic gold medallist, Mo Farah makes a welcome entry this year, as does professional tennis player and Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray. Born in 1987, Murray is the youngest non-hereditary new entrant.

Entertainment

Presenter and journalist, Gabby Logan is a new addition to Who’s Who 2013. She represented Wales in rhythmic gymnastics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, before carving out a career in broadcast where she recently presented at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Included in the 2013 edition is author and Times columnist Caitlin Moran, who was named Critic of the Year and Interviewer of the Year at the 2011 British Press Awards. She lists her recreations as ‘hair biggening, cava, eyeliner, The Struggle’.

Comedian and songwriter Tim Minchin, who composed the music for Matilda the Musical is included in Who’s Who for the first time, as is fellow comedian Richard Ayoade. Richard starred in The IT Crowd and has directed music videos for the Arctic Monkeys and Super Furry Animals, amongst others.

Cooking Sensations

Two star Michelin chef, Michael Caines is a new biographee for the 2013 edition. Head Chef at Gidleigh Park in Devon and Bath Priory, Michael appeared in Celebrity Masterchef 2011 and is one of Britain’s most acclaimed chefs. He is joined by Nathan Outlaw, another South West based chef, who enjoys ‘collecting cookery books’. Star Wars fan Nathan is a two star Michelin chef who has two restaurants at the St Enodoc Hotel, in Cornwall.

Family Connections

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s brother Leo, Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Sustainability and Climate Change and sister Rachel, Editor-in-Chief of The Lady, are new names for 2013. Boris, another brother Joseph and father Stanley are already in Who’s Who making them one of the most successful families in the yearbook.

Another well-connected new entrant is Rachel Wolf, Director of the New Schools Network, who began her career as a researcher for Boris Johnson and whose mother and father are both already in Who’s Who.

Trivial Pursuits?

Lord Haskins, former Chairman of Northern Foods and Express Dairies plc, has updated his recreations to include ‘only-in-emergency harvest tractor-driver’, while Zai Bennett, Controller of BBC 3, and a new entrant for the 2013 edition, reveals his pastimes to include ‘impersonating primates for baby daughter’.

Writer and broadcaster on architecture and design, Thomas Dyckhoff’s recreations include ‘gluttony, staring out of the window, butchery and pie-making’ and Antonia Romeo, Director General of Transforming Justice at the Ministry of Justice, enjoys ‘Star Wars, Lego’. Host of Radio 2’s The Art Show, Claudia Winkleman, is another welcome addition to the 2013 edition. She lists her recreations as ‘sleeping, cuddling and bothering the children’.

Who’s Who in Numbers

4.5 tonnes – the weight of Who’s Who if all the UK’s inhabitants were in it (the weight of an Asian elephant!). It would be 94 metres thick, which is the height of the O2.

6th – where Who’s Who would have come in the medal table if it had been a team at the London Olympics (12 golds, 4 silvers)

80 – the number of jumbo jets it would take to transport everyone in Who’s Who

91 – the age of the oldest new entrant in Who’s Who 2013, Professor Yoichiro Nambu, Emeritus Professor at the University of Chicago

Who’s Who 2013

Published by A&C Black, 3rd December 2012

Hardback £235.00

Print-and-online edition £325.00 (available from Oxford University Press, visit www.ukwhoswho.com

Andy Murray Wins US Open

He may have lost Wimbledon but since then Andy Murray has been on fire. Winning gold at the 2012 Olympics and now a historical win at the US Open.  Murray defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in five sets at Flushing Meadows 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2. The match lasted  four hours and 54 minutes

Murray has really triumphed this year, proving all of the doubters wrong. The 25-year-old Scot won a Grand Slam final at the fifth attempt having lost his 4 previous tries. Murray won the US open title 76 years after Fred Perry, the last British man to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Afterwards, he celebrated the Grand Slam win with friends at Hakkasan in New York. Murray also signed a copy of the menu for staff. He didn’t drink any alcohol. Opting for lemon soda instead.

 

 

 

Andy Murray Wins Gold In 2012 Olympics.

Andy Murray met his old nemesis Roger Federer on the Wimbledon court again, and took the gold home. Murray won two Olympic medals today at Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

The Scot beat the Swiss tennis champion on the same court were he was defeated at Wimbledon. Afterward he joined his mixed doubles partner Laura Robson where they lost in the deciding tie-break.

The audience chanted “Team GB, Team GB, Team GB” as Murray took gold. He won gold in less than two hours and then went into the player’s box to hug his girlfriend Kim Sears and his mother Judy.

Murray said: “It’s number one for me – the biggest win of my life.”

Brit Ben Ainslie also won a gold for Team GB after becoming the most successful sailor in Olympic history

Britain is not in third position on the medal table with 37 in total – 16 golds, 11 silver and 10 bronze. Go Team GB!

Djokovic Wins First Wimbledon Title

Novak Djokovic won his first Wimbledon championship in a thrilling 4 set match against former champion Rafael Nadal.

On a packed centre court Djokovic won the match, 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3. His win ended a twenty match winning streak for Nadal at Wimbledon.

Djokovic surprisingly dominated the first two sets, winning them 6-4 6-1. He played phenomenal tennis. Fans and pundits were left stunned at his early dominance over Nadal, often cited as one of the greatest players ever.

But those who then wrote Nadal off, did so far too quickly. The third set saw a complete reverse. Djokovic’s level dropped and Nadal capitalised, winning the set easily 6-1.

At this stage many thought Nadal might go on to win the match. Nadal had an early opportunity in the fourth set to break Djokovic but he failed to take advantage. With that Nadal’s momentum was lost and Djokovic managed to sneak a break.  All of a sudden he found himself serving for the match. He managed to hold his nerve in a tricky final game.

This was the first time Djokovic has won Wimbledon; his previous best effort was the semi-finals. Nadal was typically sporting after his defeat and promised to be back next year. Djokovic was unsurprisingly overjoyed with his win.