WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Once the Centre Court roof was closed, nothing could stop Roger Federer from winning his record-tying seventh Wimbledon title.
The 30-year-old Federer finally equaled Pete Sampras' record at the All England Club, and won his 17th Grand Slam title overall, by beating Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 Sunday.
"I'm happy that closing the roof maybe helped me today, because I wasn't sure if that was going to help me or not," Federer said.
Once Murray's forehand landed wide on match point, Federer collapsed to the grass with tears welling in his eyes. He got up quickly and shook hands with Murray at the net.
Up in the players' box, Federer's wife and twin daughters cheered and smiled as he took his seat to await yet another Wimbledon trophy presentation.
"When the roof closed, he played unbelievable tennis," Murray said.
Federer is now 17-7 in Grand Slam finals, including 7-1 atWimbledon. Murray dropped to 0-4 in major finals, with three of those losses coming against Federer.
"It's amazing. It equals me with Pete Sampras, who's my hero," said Federer, who lost in the quarterfinals at the All England Club in 2010 and '11. "It just feels amazing."
