"Relief is probably the best word I would use to, you know, describe how I'm feeling just now," said Andy Murray after finally achieving what he has set out to do, ever since turning professional - win a Grand Slam.
Murray's epic five-set 7-6 (10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Novak Djokovic in the final of the U.S. Open, saw him break a 0-4 final record, and also become the first British winner since Fred Perry in 1936.
"It was obviously a very tough match," Murray told reporters. "Mentally, the last three, four days have been pretty tiring.
"When the conditions have been like they have been, you need to focus so hard on almost every shot because the ball is very hard to control. So mentally it was challenging aside from it being a slam final and having not won one before, playing against Novak, who on this surface is -- I mean, in the slams I don't think he's lost for a couple of years.
"So it was an incredibly tough match, and, yeah, obviously it felt great at the end. Very, very happy that I managed to come through because if I had lost this one from two sets up, that would have been a tough one to take."
The win was also an emotional one for Murray, who showed signs of breaking the Grand Slam hoodoo after a brilliant gold-medal performance at the London Olympics. "Obviously you're feeling a lot of things. I was obviously very emotional. I cried a little bit on the court," he said.
"You're not sad; you're incredibly happy. You're in a little bit of disbelief because when I have been in that position many times before and not won, you do think 'Is it ever going to happen?' Then when it finally does, you just, you're obviously very, very excited."
Murray was also proud to have broken the Grand Slam drought of British men's tennis of 76 years. "I know when I was serving for the match, there's a sense of how big a moment that is in British tennis history really," Murray added. "So that obviously adds to it.
"I know more than most British players, I have been asked about it many times when I got close to winning Grand Slams before. I get asked about it more and more even after I won the Olympics. I still got asked, 'When are you going to win a Grand Slam?'
"So, yeah, it's great to have finally done it, and I said in one of the interviews after the match, I hope now it inspires some kids to play tennis and also takes away the notion that British tennis players choke or don't win or it's not a good sport.
"It's in a very good place in the UK right now. Obviously Laura (Robson) has done very well. The Olympics was great for us. Liam Broady was in the final here in the juniors. It's in a good place. I hope it stays that way."
The Scot said he winning the U.S. Open was completely different to getting a gold medal at the Olympics. "At the Olympics there was so much going on with all of the other sports and everyone was doing really well," he went on. "There was a lot of momentum and stuff.
"I had also the mixed doubles to focus on a bit. When you know you're guaranteed a couple of silver medals that also maybe helped me a little bit going into the final there. Whereas here I was still doubting myself right up to a few minutes before you go on to play the match.
"You're thinking 'Are you going to be able to do this? This is going to be tough.' The match against him always is going to hurt, you know, as well.
"Physically it's challenging. It's something I have never done before. I have been in this position many times and not managed to get through. So there is a lot of things you're thinking about before you go out on the court. I am just so relieved, like I said, to finally have got through and can put this one behind me and hopefully win more."
