Federer and Murray
Federer defeated Murray in four sets to win his seventh Wimbledon title Reuters

Roger Federer won a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title and reclaimed the world number one ranking by defeating British number one Andy Murray in four sets in the final on Sunday.

Murray was aiming to be the first Briton to lift a major singles trophy in 76 years. But the Swiss defeated him 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 to win his 17th Grand Slam and moved level with William Renshaw and Pete Sampras for the most titles at the All England Club.

The Scot got off to the best possible start as he broke Federer's first service game but the 30-year-old broke back soon to level the score as the set looked to be moving towards a tie-break. However, Murray produced some excellent shots to break his opponent again and close out the set 6-4, much to the delight of the crowd.

There was little to separate the two in the second set when heavy rain forced the roof to be shut. When play resumed after a 30-minute break, Federer, who looked shaky in the opener, seemed to have found his touch and started playing some brilliant ground strokes into the corners, to stretch Murray. The Swiss broke Murray and held his serve to claim the set 7-5 and level the match.

The third set was on serve till Federer broke Murray in an incredible sixth game that saw an astonishing 10 deuces as both players dug deep to gain the edge. Federer stood firm and closed the set 6-3, to gain a 2-1 lead, making matters tough for Murray.

The Centre Court crowd got behind Murray but he was broken again in the fourth. And despite some strong resistance from the 25-year-old, Federer was able to hold his serve and see out the set 6-4 to win the match and the championship - his first since the 2010 Australian Open.

With the win, Federer secured a record 286th week as world number one, while Murray has now lost all four of his Grand Slam finals, a record he shares with his coach Ivan Lendl.

"Everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon, but it's not the people watching - they make it incredible. There are mixed emotions. Most of them are negative. The reaction from the crowd was great. I felt like I was playing for the nation and I couldn't quite do it," BBC quoted Murray as saying.