wimbledon

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.

London is preparing for a truly international summer, as the world's attention begins to turn on the English capital. With a focus on European countries already prominent at Euro 2012, it will soon be time for the rest of world to join in with the Olympics.

This unique and very busy summer in London started with the truly British celebration that was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Thousands of Union Jack flags were put up around the Capital for the festivities, though they are now rapidly being replaced by flags of the world. Flags are adorning most streets in central London, with Regents Street looking particularly impressive as it prepares to welcome the nations of the world. The photo above is of Conduit Street, which is just off Regents Street and right outside the ForeignStudents.com offices.

A Summer of Sport

London is currently gripped by football fever (it's very contagious) with Euro 2012 building (or should that be breaking?) international relationships. With the group stages almost finished, the tournament is starting to take shape, and England will be hoping to win their final match against Ukraine tonight to take their place in the quarter-finals.