• London Olympics 2012

Murray: Olympic win one of the biggest of my life

Andy Murray is Olympic champion © Getty Images

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Andy Murray has hailed beating Roger Federer to become Olympic champion as the perfect tonic to his heartbreaking Wimbledon defeat four weeks ago.

Murray was in imperious form as he produced one of the best performances of his career to completely outplay Federer in a 6-2 6-1 6-4 rout on Centre Court at SW19.

Twenty eight days ago Murray cut a forlorn figure as he wept in front of the nation following a heart-wrenching four-set defeat to the Swiss maestro for his fourth grand slam reverse.

However, the Scot showed no scars from that chastening experience, bullying his great rival into submission in straight sets, taking only an hour and 56 minutes to do so.

"It's amazing. I didn't expect that ," he told BBC Sport. "I was a bit tired after Wimbledon but I felt so fresh on the court today. I didn't feel nervous or anything on the court today. I've had a lot of tough losses in my career but this was the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final. I will never forget it.

"This was one of the biggest wins of my life. This week has been incredible for me; the support has been amazing at all of the Olympic events.

"I watched the athletics last night and the way Mo Farah won [the 10,000m] gave me a boost coming into today. I didn't expect that [becoming Olympic champion] at the start of the week. I thought I'd go deep into the tournament but I felt so fresh today. It's amazing."

A reflective Federer paid tribute to Murray, saying the Scot fully deserved his golden moment.

"He was better, much better than I was today but I'm happy with silver," he said. "I had a very emotional tournament. Maybe I was emotionally drained but, nevertheless, I didn't think I played too badly, but things didn't go my way. It's unfortunate, but still a great day for me. Andy looked like he was never doubting himself and he was able to come through this time around. He's had a wonderful career already and I'm happy for him."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.