Andy Murray says he’s determined to push on from his historic Wimbledon win and notch up more Grand Slam titles.
Speaking after a near sleepless night, Murray returned to his press duties hailed as a national hero, having become the first British man to lift the famed gold trophy in 77 years.
His emotion-charged 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win over top seed Novak Djokovic on a baking-hot centre court on Monday morning Australian time left the 26-year Scot drained but still lucid over what faces him next in his tennis career.
Next up, he knows, will be the defence of his US Open crown in New York in September with the US hard court season set to kick in at Montreal in less than a month’s time.
“I hope I don’t lose hunger. I should be able to use this for motivation,” the Scot said of his Wimbledon triumph.
“I know what it’s like losing in a Wimbledon final and I know what it’s like winning one, and it’s a lot better winning. The hard work is worth it.”
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Murray says the whirlwind of media interviews and official duties as a Wimbledon winner have left him in a kind of a daze and that getting to sleep at the end of it all has been all but impossible.
“No one could really believe it and I was the same,” he said of his own feelings and that of his family and entourage.
“You don’t want to go to sleep in case you wake up and it didn’t actually happen. I was just messaging my friends and laying in bed. It was tough to get to sleep last night.”
Murray’s historic win has sparked speculation that he would be awarded a knighthood by the Queen.
Asked about the possibility of a knighthood, Murray remained coy saying that he was not sure he was worthy of it.
“It’s a nice thing to have or be offered. I think just because everyone’s waited for such a long time for this, that’s probably why it will be suggested but I don’t know if it merits that,” he said.
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Former title holder Roger Federer has fallen to No.5 in the new ATP rankings, the first time in a decade he’s been that low.
Federer’s second-round loss at Wimbledon, a year after taking the title, drops him from No.3.
He was fifth in the rankings in June 23, 2003, two weeks before he won Wimbledon for the first of his record 17 grand slam titles.
Andy Murray remains at No.2 on Monday, behind the runner-up, Novak Djokovic.
Quarter-finalist David Ferrer rises one spot to a career-high No.3 with Rafael Nadal fourth.
Of the Australians in the top 100, Bernard Tomic is ranked No.42 followed by Lleyton Hewitt at No.64 and Marinko Matosevic at No.72.
Marion Bartoli, who won Wimbledon for her first grand slam title, moves from No.15 to No.7 in the WTA rankings.
Serena Williams stays at No.1 despite her fourth-round loss at Wimbledon while Australian Samantha Stosur is unchanged at No.13.
More than a quarter of the British population tuned in to watch Andy Murray become Britain’s first men’s Wimbledon champion since 1936, BBC figures released on Monday showed.
The British Broadcasting Corporation said the final attracted a peak of 17.3 million viewers.
The March 2011 census put the United Kingdom population at 63,182,200, meaning more than 27 per cent tuned in to watch Murray’s match against Serbian world No.1 Novak Djokovic.
Murray’s triumph drew the highest domestic television audience for a Wimbledon final since at least 1990.
