Wait is over for Andy Murray as Scot lifts first Grand Slam

Tennis Scotland chief executive David Marshall has led tributes to Andy Murray after the  Craiglockhart-trained 25-year-old clinched his first Grand Slam title by beating Novak Djokovic in five sets at the US Open in the early hours of this morning, writes BILL LOTHIAN.

In seeing off the Serbian, the heroic Scot also became the first British man to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry won Wimbledon in 1936.

Marshall said: “What an absolutely fantastic performance and incredible result for Andy and the latest success in what has been an unprecedented summer of sport.

“We all knew that it was only a matter of time before he made the breakthrough in a Grand Slam and, now that he has secured the first, I’m certain there will be many more to come.

“This is a huge moment for tennis in this country and at Tennis Scotland we must now do everything possible to take full advantage of what will be a huge upsurge in interest.

“There is already a significant amount of  resources put into the resurgence of park tennis and links between school and clubs and other initiatives designed to increase participation but there is still an awful lot of work to be done.”

It is understood that discussions had already taken place to find ways of marking 25-year-old Murray’s Olympic title earlier this year.