ANDY MURRAY (2)

I have to eat humble pie. For some time I have been predicting that Andy Murray will never win one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. And for some time, he has been proving me right, losing in four finals.

However, yesterday he proved me wrong. In beating defending champion Novak Djokovic in five sets on an extremely blustery court in New York, he became Britain's first male Grand Slam winner for 76 years. With the victory, he emulated the career of his new mentor Ivan Lendl, who also lost his first four finals before going on to win eight times. Personally, I don't think Murray will go on to win seven more; Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are all still around and going strong. But then I didn't think he would win the first one.

Still, credit where it's due, he should be congratulated. Not least in managing to shake off the albatross that has affected British tennis players since 1936. I am off to eat my pie.

Walter Blotscher