Federer in seventh heaven at Wimbledon

Roger Federer has equalled Pete Sampras' record of Wimbledon titles in the Open era, beating Andy Murray by four sets in Sunday's final.

Federer came from a set down to defeat the local favourite Murray, and win his record-equalling seventh title at the All England Club in the process.

The Swiss maestro was broken twice in the opening set but responded in style, winning 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 in three hours and 24 minutes to win his first Grand Slam since defeating Murray in the 2010 Australian Open final.

Federer's win means he will regain the world No.1 ranking for the first time since June 2010.

This week will be the 286th week that the 30-year-old has held the top ranking in the sport, equalling another record set by American Sampras.

Murray also had plenty on the line as he aimed to win the first grand slam of his career in front of a pro-British crowd.

Just by making the decider Murray had made history, becoming the first Briton to make the men's singles final since 1938.

The likes of British Prime Minister David Cameron, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, and former England captain David Beckham were all in attendance and they were delighted by Murray's terrific start.

He broke Federer's serve in the first game of the match and although his opponent responded shortly after with a break of his own, it was Murray that started the better.

With the first set locked at 4-4, the Scot took advantage of two Federer errors to break before serving out the set in style.

Murray returned superbly in the first set, winning 16 of 34 points on his opponent's first serve, while Federer was misfiring, hitting 16 unforced errors to five in the opener.

The eventual winner began to find his range in the second set, winning 77 percent of points on his first serve in addition to 19 winners.

But it was Murray's failure to convert any of his four break points that allowed Federer back into the match as he levelled it at one set apiece.

With the scores level at 1-1 in the third set, yet another match on centre court was delayed due to rain.

A nervous 40-minute wait followed as officials were forced to close the roof, which was only fitted in 2009.

Once players returned, it was Federer who was dominant.

He began to control games on his serve, with Murray winning just 14 points of 55 when returning in the final two sets.

Federer gave Murray just one break point in that period, while he consistently hit winners when it counted.

The third set was decided in the sixth game with Murray unable to save another break point at 2-3 down.

He previously saved five break points in a 20-minute game but Federer's brilliant ground strokes eventually told the story before he sealed the third set with his ninth ace of the match.

The fourth set was similar, with Federer making the crucial break in the fifth game thanks to a marvellous backhand cross-court passing shot.

And after failing to take advantage of his first match point, Federer converted the second before slumping to the ground as he celebrated winning his 17th Grand Slam.

Federer becomes the oldest winner at the All England Club since American great Arthur Ashe in 1975 while at 30 years and 335 days, he will be the second oldest man