History-making Andy Murray ended Britain’s 76-year wait for a men’s Grand Slam champion when he beat 2011 winner Novak Djokovic 7-6 (12/10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 in an epic US Open final on Monday.

Murray became Britain’s first major champion since Fred Perry claimed his third American title in 1936, the year the Spanish Civil War started and Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected US president.

In a roller-coaster final, which witnessed a 54-shot rally, numerous 30-stroke exchanges, as well as a record-setting tie-breaker, the 25-year-old Murray held his nerve in a knife-edge final set.

The Olympic champion led 3-0 in the decider, dropped serve but broke again for 5-2 when Djokovic called a medical time-out.

But Murray wasn’t to be denied, taking the historic crown when Djokovic went long with a forehand on a second match point in what was, at four hours and 54 minutes, the second-longest US Open final of all time. - Photos by AFP