good stuff from Murray.
BBC
Andy Murray says Federer 'one of greatest'
A heartbroken Andy Murray said there was no shame in losing to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.
Murray, the first British men's singles finalist since 1938, lost 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 as Federer won his seventh title at Wimbledon and 17th Grand Slam crown.
"It's hard, it's tough to take, but you need to show strength of character to come back from it," said Murray.
"We're talking about one of the greatest athletes of all time. You've got to put it in context a little bit."
Murray went into his fourth Grand Slam final under a huge weight of public expectation as British tennis fans relished the prospect of a first homegrown champion since Fred Perry in 1936.
Even though the 25-year-old was considered the underdog, many observers rated his chances given the 30-year-old Federer's slide down the rankings and lack of Grand Slam title since the 2010 Australian Open.
World number four Murray broke the Swiss in the very first game and held on to take the first set, but from then on Federer eased his way to victory to equal Pete Sampras's The win also took him back to the top of the rankings above Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
"Was it my best chance? I don't know," said Murray. "I lost to a guy that's now won this tournament seven times and is number one in the world.
"He's still playing amazing tennis. A lot of people have been asking me, 'Has he started slipping? Is he not playing as well?' If you look at the matches he lost in the last couple years, they were very close matches that he definitely could have won.
"He could be sitting on 20 Grand Slams but for one point or a couple inches here or there. He's still playing great tennis. I don't think you get to number one unless you deserve it."
Use accessible player and disable flyout menus
In his other Grand Slam final appearances, Murray lost to Djokovic in Australia in 2011 and to Federer in Melbourne in 2010 and at the US Open in 2008.
"I'd say that's the best I've played in a Grand Slam final," he said. "I created chances, I went up a set. It was a long match. Even the last two sets, I still had chances.
"It wasn't like I gave away bad games or stupid games. I played a good match. I made pretty good decisions for the most part, so I'm happy with that. "I felt more comfortable this morning and before the match than I had done maybe in the previous slams."
Murray gave an emotional speech on court after the match, stepping away from the microphone at one point to collect himself.
"I'm getting closer," he said on BBC TV, before adding, "I'm going to try this and it's not going to be easy."
He went on to congratulate Federer and thank his family, support team and the fans, and admitted later that he had apologised to the Swiss.
"I just said to him, 'Sorry'," said Murray. "I didn't obviously want that to happen. You feel like you're kind of attention seeking or something. It was not like that at all, but I knew it was going to be hard.
"I've seen Roger do the same thing a couple times before, so he kind of knows what it's like. He just laughed. He said, 'This is meant to be the easy part, doing the speeches after the match'. But sometimes it feels quite hard compared with playing a tennis match."
Murray also reinforced his belief that the huge public support is far more of a help than a hindrance at Wimbledon.
"It's been amazing," he said. "They're certainly not the ones that make it hard to play. They make it much, much easier, you know. When you have a crowd like that behind you, it's a lot easier to play.
"Thanks for the dedication. Sorry I couldn't do it for them."
Open-era record for Wimbledon titles.
Men's Wimbledon titles
Seven: Pete Sampras (US), William Renshaw (GB), Roger Federer (Swi)
Five: Bjorn Borg (Swe), Lawrence Doherty (GB)
Four: Reginald Doherty (GB), Anthony Wilding (NZ), Rod Laver (Aus)
A heartbroken Andy Murray said there was no shame in losing to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.
Murray, the first British men's singles finalist since 1938, lost 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 as Federer won his seventh title at Wimbledon and 17th Grand Slam crown.
"It's hard, it's tough to take, but you need to show strength of character to come back from it," said Murray.
"We're talking about one of the greatest athletes of all time. You've got to put it in context a little bit."
Murray went into his fourth Grand Slam final under a huge weight of public expectation as British tennis fans relished the prospect of a first homegrown champion since Fred Perry in 1936.
Even though the 25-year-old was considered the underdog, many observers rated his chances given the 30-year-old Federer's slide down the rankings and lack of Grand Slam title since the 2010 Australian Open.
World number four Murray broke the Swiss in the very first game and held on to take the first set, but from then on Federer eased his way to victory to equal Pete Sampras's The win also took him back to the top of the rankings above Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
"Was it my best chance? I don't know," said Murray. "I lost to a guy that's now won this tournament seven times and is number one in the world.
"He's still playing amazing tennis. A lot of people have been asking me, 'Has he started slipping? Is he not playing as well?' If you look at the matches he lost in the last couple years, they were very close matches that he definitely could have won.
"He could be sitting on 20 Grand Slams but for one point or a couple inches here or there. He's still playing great tennis. I don't think you get to number one unless you deserve it."
Use accessible player and disable flyout menus
In his other Grand Slam final appearances, Murray lost to Djokovic in Australia in 2011 and to Federer in Melbourne in 2010 and at the US Open in 2008.
"I'd say that's the best I've played in a Grand Slam final," he said. "I created chances, I went up a set. It was a long match. Even the last two sets, I still had chances.
"It wasn't like I gave away bad games or stupid games. I played a good match. I made pretty good decisions for the most part, so I'm happy with that. "I felt more comfortable this morning and before the match than I had done maybe in the previous slams."
Murray gave an emotional speech on court after the match, stepping away from the microphone at one point to collect himself.
"I'm getting closer," he said on BBC TV, before adding, "I'm going to try this and it's not going to be easy."
John Lloyd
Former British number one and BBC Sport expert
"Murray wasn't passive today. He gave 100%, his attitude was good from the start he didn't get negative. He was taking chances and taking the ball on and, to me, it was a very good performance. There's still plenty more Grand Slams left yet. What Murray has had to go through these last two weeks, to go out there and win the first set... the momentum was going his way but after that Roger just stepped up. As we've seen over the years, when it counts Federer just goes up to a level no-one can live with. When Federer's on he's just too good."
Former British number one and BBC Sport expert
"Murray wasn't passive today. He gave 100%, his attitude was good from the start he didn't get negative. He was taking chances and taking the ball on and, to me, it was a very good performance. There's still plenty more Grand Slams left yet. What Murray has had to go through these last two weeks, to go out there and win the first set... the momentum was going his way but after that Roger just stepped up. As we've seen over the years, when it counts Federer just goes up to a level no-one can live with. When Federer's on he's just too good."
"I just said to him, 'Sorry'," said Murray. "I didn't obviously want that to happen. You feel like you're kind of attention seeking or something. It was not like that at all, but I knew it was going to be hard.
"I've seen Roger do the same thing a couple times before, so he kind of knows what it's like. He just laughed. He said, 'This is meant to be the easy part, doing the speeches after the match'. But sometimes it feels quite hard compared with playing a tennis match."
Murray also reinforced his belief that the huge public support is far more of a help than a hindrance at Wimbledon.
"It's been amazing," he said. "They're certainly not the ones that make it hard to play. They make it much, much easier, you know. When you have a crowd like that behind you, it's a lot easier to play.
"Thanks for the dedication. Sorry I couldn't do it for them."
Open-era record for Wimbledon titles.
Men's Wimbledon titles
Seven: Pete Sampras (US), William Renshaw (GB), Roger Federer (Swi)
Five: Bjorn Borg (Swe), Lawrence Doherty (GB)
Four: Reginald Doherty (GB), Anthony Wilding (NZ), Rod Laver (Aus)
some of those are pre Open Era.
) looks content. 
Damning with faint praise there.
zzzzzz
Comment