Competing in an era with three of the best players to ever play tennis was proving to be excruciatingly tough for Andy Murray in the summer of 2012.
An agonising four-set defeat to Swiss great Roger Federer at Wimbledon meant Murray had lost his first four Grand Slam finals and was in danger of becoming a nearly man.
An emotional on-court interview after that defeat, though, completely changed the public perception of the most famous man out of Dunblane.
Murray rode the crest of a wave at London 2012, amidst a backdrop of British gold medals to avenge that loss in sensational fashion, on the exact same court, where he was heartbroken just weeks earlier.
His winning moment
Routine straight-set wins over Stan Wawrinka and Jarkko Nieminen encouraged the home crowd, before he overcame Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
Spaniard Nicholas Almagro was brushed aside before Murray produced a superb performance to see off Novak Djokovic – the man who would also fall victim to the Scot at the US Open later that year.
Djokovic, though, has done rather well since then, winning a total of 24 Grand Slam titles and becoming the most successful male player of all time.
Federer lay in wait after a gruelling four-hour semi-final win against Juan Martin del Potro, in which the Swiss star won 19-17 in the final set.
Unsurprisingly, after his energy-sapping triumph, Federer was no match for Murray this time.
The British star dropped just seven games in three one-sided sets in an absolute dismantling on Centre Court.
Speaking after the victory, Murray revealed he gained inspiration from fellow Team GB Olympic heroes, Mo Farah and rower Katherine Grainger.
“The way Mo Farah won, I mean, I do 400-meter repetitions in my training, and when I am completely fresh, I can run it in 57 seconds, and his last lap after 9,600 meters was 53 seconds. It is just unbelievable fitness, and it gave me a boost.
“I think (Katherine Grainger) will tell you that she’s a lot happier right now than someone who won gold at their first attempt.
“Obviously, you want it to happen as soon as possible, but in sport, when it has taken a long time to get that first breakthrough, it’s more special.”
The Scot was finally a winner on the biggest stage and he repeated the feat in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, meaning he is the only person to win two gold medals in singles.
Dominant Williams
Perhaps the best performance at the event was by American icon Serena Williams, who won the ladies singles – and also teamed up with her sister Venus to make it double gold for the then 30-year-old.
Serena beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4 6-1, Urszula Radwanska 6-2 6-3, Vera Zvonareva 6-1 6-0, and Caroline Wozniacki 6-0 6-3, before sealing her place in the gold medal match as she thrashed Victoria Azarenka 6-1 6-2.
The American's long-term rival Maria Sharapova was her opponent in the decisive match, but the Russian stood no real chance.
A 6-0 6-1 victory followed in just 63 minutes, which meant Serena had dropped just 18 games across her six matches.
The Williams sisters were almost as convincing in their doubles success, failing to drop a set throughout their run.
What else happened?
Another pair of siblings earned the USA another gold medal in the Mens doubles – as Mike and Bob Bryan saw off French pair Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra in the final.
Azarenka, who also earned bronze in the women's singles, teamed up with Max Mirnyi for Belarus to take home gold in the mixed doubles, as GB’s Murray and Laura Robson settled for silver.
The British duo took the opening set 6-2 in front of a raucous home crowd, but their opponents fought back to take the second set 6-3 - before winning the champions tie-break.
