Andy Murray savours his greatest victory after Grand Slam triumph

Andy Murray capped an astonishing year by finally clinching his first Grand Slam title on Monday night in New York — a month after being crowned Olympic champion at Wimbledon.

The new world number three looked to have thrown it away after conceding a two-set lead against Novak Djokovic in the US Open final but powered his way back into the match to win the fifth set.

Murray dropped to his haunches and held his head in his hands as the enormity of his achievement began to dawn on him.

After Djokovic graciously congratulated the victor, Murray accepted his first Grand Slam trophy, kissing the silverware and lifting it to the sky.

For his fans his victory meant elation — and for Murray delight as well as relief at winning a Grand Slam final at the fifth attempt.

For Britons it meant their 76-year wait for a male tennis Grand Slam winner was finally over — the last British man to achieve that feat was Fred Perry at the US Open in 1936.

In Murray's home town of Dunblane, fans erupted into chants of "There's only one Andy Murray" at the packed Dunblane Hotel in the early hours of Tuesday.

In New York, Murray told Sky Sports 1 after his victory: "Right now, there's a lot of relief and I'm still buzzing a bit from the match — the atmosphere out there was unbelievable.

"It would have been a tough one to lose, so I'm so, so happy I managed to pull though in the end. The body's hurting a bit but it was worth it."

"It is what I have been working towards for the last 10 years of my life," Murray later told BBC Sport. "It means the world to me."

"I think everyone is in a little bit of shock that it has happened. I've seen my mum after I've lost Slam finals and she has been really upset. Everyone's really happy," he said.

"It is hard to explain. It has been a long, long journey to this point, so I don't know if it is disbelief or whatever, but I am very, very happy on the inside. I'm sorry if I'm not showing it as you would like."

The Scot won the match at New York's Flushing Meadows 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2, coping best with the blustery conditions before Djokovic's determined comeback.

Murray said afterwards that he used a toilet break after the fourth set to regain his composure and get himself back on track.

He said: "At the beginning of the fifth set I went to the toilet and I said to myself, 'for one set, just give it everything you've got'."

The encounter lasted four hours and 54 minutes.

After becoming Olympic champion on August 5, Murray has now become the first man to win Olympic singles gold and the US Open in the same year.

Tributes to the Scot's achievements flooded in and his relatives were thrilled by his success.

His grandparents Shirley and Roy Erskine stayed up to watch their grandson beat Djokovic.

The couple said they had received congratulatory phone calls from all over the world and had got very little sleep.

Mrs Erskine said: "He has had an amazing summer and we're just so delighted and proud of what he's achieved."

Mr Erskine said there was no question that his grandson's win against Roger Federer at the Olympics boosted his confidence.

He said: "That set him on the path and gave him the extra confidence, along with his coach [Ivan] Lendl, who has been good for his focus."

Murray's uncle, Niall Erskine, said: "There are a huge mixture of emotions in the family — pride, relief, excitement.

"The way we felt when he reached the Wimbledon final was pure excitement but last night was like 'I can't believe he's just done it', and the significance hit home very quickly."

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond predicted the win wouldn't be Murray's last Grand Slam title. He said: "Now Olympic and US Open champion, Andy truly is a Scottish sporting legend and I'm certain that more Grand Slam titles will follow."

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