Mount Murray was packed. Hundreds of people, maybe thousands, who knows? It was pitch dark Monday night, and they all sat together, watching the Great Brit Hope, Andy Murray, on the big-screen outside Centre Court.Inside, Murray played Stanislas Wawrinka under the new roof. It was the first full match ever played under that roof, closed because of the rain during the previous match. And it was awe-inspiring to the crowd in itself, and the Queen had already written Murray a note wishing him luck, and she's expected to be there if he gets to the final, and the match went to a dramatic fifth set, and it was just so many things all at once.
This is how legends are started, good or bad. And that explains Murray's scream when he did it. He won 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals, dropping to his knees, letting out a yell that echoed off the roof and throughout the place.
"When you've got 15,000 people supporting you, it makes it extra special," he said over the p.a. after the match, which ended at 10:39 p.m. London time. "So thanks a lot."
Next up for Murray is Juan Carlos Ferrero, and then probably Andy Roddick, and likely Roger Federer. That's all that's left on the path to becoming the first Brit to win the men's title since Fred Perry did it in 1936.
I think he's going to do it.
No, he has not looked as, well, perfect as Federer has. He has scrapped much more than Federer, and also more than Novak Djokovic, the No. 4 player who has managed to go unnoticed.
But Murray has held up under the pressure, and that was the only question about whether he was ready to break through and win his first major.
"I believe I can win Wimbledon" he said. "That has not changed since the first match. I have to play great tennis to do it, and had to play some great tennis tonight to come back.''
This has been a quiet Wimbledon. Just dominance from Federer and the Williams sisters. Roddick has been hot, too. Also a thrill from an American teenager, Melanie Oudin, who lost Monday. And for Murray, it has been mostly nervous hopes from the Brits.
The tournament is seriously missing the flash and star power of Rafael Nadal, out with sore knees. Murray isn't ready to take Nadal's superstar, but he did provide a spark. He gave this Wimbledon its first special moment.
In the development, the process of growing into that first major title, Murray took another step Monday.
His stumbling points have had to do with losing his head under pressure and running out of steam. Also, as a defensive player, he used to think too much, and needed a little more grip-it-and-rip-it mentality.
All of those things have changed now. And with this match, under this pressure, Murray, ranked No. 3, showed that he's a finisher now.
"He used to get upset," ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert, Murray's former coach, said. "He had trouble putting points behind him. He would yell at me. He would yell a lot. And that would linger. It would tire him out physically and mentally.''
So Murray, now 22, is learning. He has had the experience of a major final, losing to Federer in the U.S. Open. But he also now has beaten Federer the past four times they've played.
None of those four came on Centre Court, Federer's place, though.
And if Murray does get past Andy Roddick, who is playing the best tennis of his life, to the final, imagine the moment: It will be the Cubs in the World Series, trying to break the slump, with the pressure coming from past and present, and all throughout the stands and the city.
And, in Murray's case, all of Great Britain.
Imagine Murray trying to beat the king (Federer) in front of the queen (Elizabeth II).
"Got a nice letter from the Queen saying well done for winning Queen's," Murray wrote on his Twitter account after he won the pre-Wimbledon, Queen's Club tournament. "Put it in its own pile away from the bills.''
She hasn't been to a match since the 1977 women's final, when Brit Virginia Wade won.
But all of that is a ways ahead. And this day was big enough. History was made from the roof alone, which was closed in the middle of the Dinara Safina-Amelie Mauresmo match. For the record, Safina won.
For some reason, that roof has created a buzz. Fans love it. When they closed it the other day, apparently just for sport after the final match on Centre Court was done, fans stayed inside and took pictures.
The points played much slower indoors in the dead air, so both players swung harder and harder. And every noise made a loud ECHO, ECho, echo, ec. . .
"It's very, very heavy and very humid,'' Murray said. "Sweating so much, sweating a lot. Like form the start, I noticed both of us trying to get white towels from the locker room.
"Your hand was drenched. When I finished, it was like I had been in a bath.''
It's just like that in tennis, when you are so close to losing and can turn it right back around and make a statement, the first one of this Wimbledon.
And it reverberated off a roof, a packed hill in the dark and a country. Murray is here for the FIGHT, FIGht, fight, fi. . .
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