He's Back! Roger Federer wins his 17th major, Murray still battling for his first.

Its a familiar scene; that look on Roger Federer's face as he collapses onto the turf of the All-England Club. The slow-mo footage of his moment of triumph as his wife looks on from the players box and the crowd applauds the greatest player to ever play the game.

But wait a minute, this isn't 2005, 2007 or even 2009. The vanquished opponent isn't a Spanish lefty or a big-serving American but a counter-punching Briton. This is 2012 and Roger has rolled back the clock to strike back at the critics, and cement his place at the top of the game; both in the history books (again) and in the world rankings.

It didn't look like it was going to be a day for returning legends at the beginning of the match however, but a day for homegrown heroes.

Andy Murray, who had battled through an extraordinarily tough draw to reach his first Wimbledon final started superbly. Sprinting out the blocks, Murray broke Federer in the opening game and looked far more settled than he had done in the opening stages of his three previous Grand Slam finals. He was broken back for 2-2 but at 4-all, the Scot piled the pressure on the Federer serve promptly broke and served out the first, 6-4.

On Centre Court, on Henman Hill, in pubs and in living rooms across the UK, we dared to believe. It certainly looked like Murray did.

Murray still searches for his maiden major

But it wasn't to be, Federer wasn't a 16-time Slam winner for no reason. In a second set where Murray had looked dominant, forcing 4 break points but just missing converting them, Federer struck. It seemed like the second was on-course for a tiebreak- Murray served at 5-6 down but 30-0 up, and looked comfortable. If anything going to a tiebreak was something of a disappointment for the Scot, he had certainly looked the more likely of the two to break throughout the set. But at 30-0, and just two points from forcing Federer to a breaker- Murray blinked and Federer upped the pressure. Forcing Murray into threading the needle with a topspin lob after Fed's attacking net-play, Murray missed the baseline by centimetres.

Had Murray held that game from 30-0, and won the subsequent tiebreak, it could have been a different story for the Brit. Federer, at the time of the closing of the roof due to the inevitable downpour, would have had 40 minutes to work out how to win all 3 remaining sets from an inspired opponent in front of his home crowd.

However, Murray had an almost imperceivable drop in concentration, perhaps believing the breaker was somewhat of an inevitability. Against a player who isn't so aware of the ebbs and flows of a tennis match, isn't so dialled in to his opponent and didn't have an inexhaustible experience of big-match experience to draw upon, then Murray would have been in a breaker. But Federer isn't that kind of player, he is aware of all the complex minutiae that constitute the intangible 'metagame' of a tennis match. Coming into this match, Federer had already appeared in 23 Grand Slam finals and understood exactly how key these small turning points are.

From the moment play resumed under the roof, Federer seemed transformed. His prowess in indoor conditions is well-documented; he has the best record indoors in the ATP. Federer's forehand was deeper, cleaner struck. His backhand unerringly consistent, free of the occasional mis-hits of the first two sets. His average serve speed increased 5mph, and although Murray hung in during his first service game after resumption, it looked like he was in trouble.

Serving at 2-3 down, the game of the match unfolded. It lasted longer than some sets in the rest of the tournament (see the Shvedova/Errani 'Golden Set' ) and after almost 20 minutes of continual pressure on the Murray serve, the Scot finally cracked. Federer was moving perfectly, and his 'inside-in' forehand (where a player runs around the backhand to strike a forehand out of that side of the court- and hits it down the line) was forcing Murray to cover too much ground, too often. With the decisive break, Federer proceeded to serve out the third- 6-3.

Federer hit imperious form in sets 3 and 4

Murray had chances to break in the fourth, both at 30-40 in Feds first service game, and at 15-30 missing an easy backhand into the open court to set up a double break-point. However it seemed Federer looked more assured as each point passed, more in control. He approached the net frequently, attacked the second serve and was moving effortlessly around the court. Breaking at 2-2 and not looking back, Federer served out for his first Wimbledon title in three years. Cue the familiar scene described at the beginning of this article.

For now- Federer is on top of the world. While Murray is perhaps feeling as if he has hit rock-bottom, another crushing loss for him in a Slam Final. However he should be proud, as should the British media, fans and his coaching team, of his achievements this Wimbledon.

More to follow on the aftermath of the final; Murray's tears, Wimbledon pressure, Federer's place in history and an article on indoor conditions, momentum and why you should never listen to Virginia Wade...

(Images from Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Justin Smith)