Federer–Murray rivalry major title extending the all-time record. Their match at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships was one of the most highly anticipated Wimbledon finals in the history of The Championships. Federer was in the midst of a twenty-nine month drought in Grand Slam titles, then the longest of his career since first winning Wimbledon in 2003. Meanwhile, Murray had become the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final since Bunny Austin in 1938. Many in the United Kingdom were excited that Murray could become the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win Wimbledon. Murray sent the British crowd
Andy Murray grass to 18 matches. With the win, he also became only the second man in the open era after Rafael Nadal to hold the Olympic singles gold medal and Wimbledon title simultaneously. At the US Open, Murray entered a Grand Slam tournament as defending champion for the first time, and started strongly with a straight sets win against Michaël Llodra. He backed this up with wins over Leonardo Mayer, Florian Mayer and Denis Istomin to reach the quarter-finals at a major for the 11th straight tournament. In the last 8, Murray faced Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, but lost in straight