Only when Murray broke Roddick’s serve to bring the third set back to life did the audience remember it was their job to flood the court with patriotic energy.
This was not their finest day. They forgot that the idea is to whip up a dervish from the start, not just when it gets good. Maybe there was a faith-deficit there all along, from the four Henman semi-finals, all of which ended with a fiesta of gallows humor.
The end of the third-set propelled the match into classic Wimbledon dogfight territory. In a tie-break Murray approached that transcendent state when the battle is the only thing, but Roddick prevailed, which left the local hero needing to win the last two sets.
One wondered whether it was ever so suffocating for Austin or Perry. Neither ran into an opponent of Roddick’s booming power, nor perhaps, one who was so inspired for a day. Inspired by the thought of making Britain suffer.
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