tennis

In front of a packed Centre Court crowd and searing temperatures, Andy Murray did the unthinkable and won Wimbledon yesterday, beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets. It ended a 36-year wait for a British winner and amazingly is the first time a British man has won the prestigious tournament for 77 years.

Coming into the match Murray not only had the world number 1 facing him, but also the nation's expectations on his shoulders. As well as the 15,000 spectators packed into Centre Court, a further 4,000 were sat on ‘Murray Mount' (surely this can replace ‘Henman Hill' now?!) and a huge 17.3 million British people watching at home- making it the most watched TV moment of 2013.

As the players came out to warm up, on court temperatures reached a staggering 50^oC (122F)- one of the hottest Wimbledon finals on record. Whilst the players may be used to playing in these sort of temperatures in the US and Australian Opens, the British crowd were certainly not. St John Ambulance revealed that they treated 79 fans inside Wimbledon for heat related ailments during the final, including dehydration, sunburn and heat exhaustion.

Gruelling Rallies

Watch the highlights of the match:

The football season may be over, but it is still a big summer of sport for Britain, no more so than over the last few days. The Lions British rugby team played their first match on Saturday against Australia, before the England cricket team played India in the final of the ODI Champions Trophy, which was followed up with the start of Wimbledon yesterday.

Lions Hang on Against Australia

Once every four years, the best rugby union players from England, Ireland Scotland and Wales are brought together to represent the Lions. They then tour a southern hemisphere country, playing against the national team in a series of games.

This time around, they are touring Australia, and after endless warm-up matches, they finally played the first ‘Test' (against Australia's national team) on Saturday. In a topsy-turvy match that turned into a mini-classic, there were stunning tries, ridiculous misses and plenty of big hits. Watch the highlights below:

Andy Murray lost in four sets to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon tennis final yesterday, but his performance and post-match interview gained him millions of new fans in Britain. Meanwhile, Federer confirmed himself as one of, if not the, greatest player of all time, equalling Pete Sampras' record of seven Wimbledon titles and returning to number 1 in the rankings.

Murray Making History

As the number four in the world, Murray had already appeared in three other Grand Slam finals, though hadn't won even a single set in any of them. However, after reaching the semis at Wimbledon each of the previous three years, he eventually made it to the final after beating Frenchman Tsonga on Friday.

Amazingly, this was the first time a British man had reached the final of the London tennis tournament since 1938- a huge 74 year wait. However, up against Murray was the most successful man ever to have played the sport- Roger Federer. Murray started well, breaking his opponent in the very first game, before going on to win the first set 6-4. The joy was short-lived though, as he lost the next three sets.

England have been knocked out of Euro 2012, yesterday was the first sunny day in weeks, and the London Olympics are still over a month away. It all adds up to make it the perfect time for Wimbledon to take centre stage. The annual tennis tournament in south-west London started yesterday, and already fans have been treated to the world's best players, some huge shocks, and even a British win.

The tournament is one of the four ‘Majors' in tennis and is the oldest tennis competition in the world. For two weeks each year it becomes the focus of the sport, as crowds descend on the twenty grass courts to stuff themselves with strawberries and cream and watch some world-class tennis.

For the next fortnight Britain will be going tennis mad, as Wimbledon fever takes over the country. The tennis tournament, held in south west London, attracts all the very best players in the world, including Britain's main hope- Andy Murray.

One of the four majors in tennis (alongside the Australian, French and U.S. Opens), Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and the only one to still be played on grass. Held annually, this year's tournament has particular significance as it is the 125^th championships.