When Roger Federer played a disguised forehand winner, after changing his grip to seemingly play a drop shot; you knew there was only going to be one winner.
Federer at his majestic best is near impossible to beat. Only one player has ever done that -Rafael Nadal -- and he is also one of the greatest ever to play the game of tennis.
It felt almost unfair on Murray. How can you feint to play a drop shot and then hit a forehand winner? That shot, pretty much, defined the last two sets of the match. Federer making his younger opponent run with the Royal of Tennis putting on a show that many thought he was no longer capable of; in front of the Royal box filled with VIPs, all pining for a win for their home favorite.
You cannot grudge Federer a win. It just does not happen. What Federer does on the tennis court, particularly on the grass courts of Wimbledon, cannot be defined by words and more importantly for the supporters, cannot be disliked. This is an artist that will put the likes of Leonardo Da Vinci and Picasso to shade.
If there were any doubts about Rod Laver or Pete Sampras or any other player being greater than Federer, surely the Swiss Master ended that debate under the roof of centre court on Sunday. Anybody watching Federer glide his way to a 17th Grand Slam victory, seven of them at Wimbledon, would find it impossible to admit they had not just seen the greatest tennis player to ever play the game.
Federer, when at his best, almost seems in-human. How is it possible for a player to play such majestic shots, to cover the court with such ease and yet seem like he has not broken a sweat?
The 30-year-old has had an astounding career, made even more unbelievable by the fact that he never seems to get injured. Look at Nadal, however great he might be the Spaniard keeps breaking down from time to time. It is because of the kind of game you play.
Federer makes everything look so simple. There has never been a player in the modern era, to whom tennis has come so easily. It's like that old cliché - Federer was born to do one thing, play tennis. Every shot he plays, it's like he has twenty options ahead of him and on top of that it is almost like he has all the time in the world to consider those 20 options and make the best one.
It was supposed to be Andy Murray's day to create history and after the first set and for much of the second, it looked like Britain were finally going to get their first Grand Slam champion since Fred Perry in 1936.
However, despite having an 8-7 record against Federer, Murray had lost twice in the final of a Major to the great man, before Wimbledon. Tennis is as much a mental game as a physical one. If Murray had taken one of the several break points he received in the second set, the game could have been so different.
Having said that though, there is not much anybody in the tennis world can do, when Federer is in his pomp. This is his backyard; the Wimbledon centre court was made for him and tying the record of seven Wimbledon titles, set by his idol Sampras, was his destiny. Federer also equalled Sampras' record of 286 weeks as the top-ranked player, by reclaiming the No 1 ranking.
Going into this year, nobody gave Federer a chance. It was the year of Novak Djokovic and Nadal. That rivalry was going to take precedence. It did, for the first two Grand Slams. Come Wimbledon though, it was all about the great man. Federer blew Djokovic out of the court in the semi-final. The defending champion had a bemused smile about him after the match, almost not knowing what had hit him. It was not the first time someone has had that expression after playing Federer, and certainly won't be the last one.
"He's a great champion, a classy champion, and I'm really happy for him," Sampras said.
Form is temporary, class is permanent. And on Sunday in South-West London; the 30-year-old from Switzerland showed just why he is considered by many to be the greatest ever to have played the game.