London, England, 6 August 2012 | Tennis Australia

Having lost his first four major finals, finally it was Andy Murray’s turn to add his name to the winner’s list.

Winning arguably the biggest prize behind tennis’ four Grand Slam titles, Murray routed world No.1 Roger Federer 6-2 6-1 6-4 to win Olympic singles gold for Great Britain.

In front of a wildly patriotic crowd on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, Murray bested Federer for the first time in a five-set match, and in the process gained revenge for his defeat to the Swiss in the Wimbledon final one month ago.

The win capped a magnificent week for Murray at London 2012. It meant that he had beaten the world’s top two players – after dismissing No.2 seed Djokovic in the semifinals – on his way to the title.

“I’ve had a lot of tough losses in my career,” Murray said.

“This is the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final. I’ll never forget it.”

Murray almost pulled off a spectacular golden double, returning to court following his singles victory alongside Laura Robson for the mixed doubles final.

However, in a nail-biting match, the Brits were trumped by Belarusian top seeds Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi 2-6 6-3 [10-8].

Muray completed his singles triumph in less than two hours, playing aggressive tennis and committing to his shots in a way that critics of his defensively-minded game have long called for.

He smacked more winners than the Swiss (27-24) and kept his unforced errors to 17 (compared with Federer’s 31). He slammed a hat-trick of aces on the final three points of the match to wrap up a famous victory.

“He was much better than I was today,” Federer said, perhaps a touch flat on Sunday following his bruising four-hour semifinal win over Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro two days earlier.

“Andy looked like he was never doubting himself. He had a clear plan. But still I’m very happy with the silver.”

In the bronze medal playoff, del Potro defeated Serbia’s Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-4.