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Andy Murray breaks down in runner-up speech (VIDEO)

Andy Murray was brought to tears and so was his girlfriend Kim Sears in a post-match interview following his four-set loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final. When a BBC interviewer asked the Scotsman about the emotions he felt over the fortnight, he broke down while the Centre Court crowd applauded. In his player's box, his longtime girlfriend joined him in tears.

It seemed like only moments earlier, Murray was a few points from taking a two-set lead in a bid to become the first British man to win Wimbledon in 76 years.

The interviewer's empathy is as powerful as Murray's sadness. Everyone, from Federer to Murray to the fans, knew that this was a perfect opportunity for Murray to snap the drought. Rafael Nadal was ousted in the second round and Federer has shown over the past two Wimbledons that he's beatable by lesser players than Murray. And when the 25-year-old had a second-set lead, even as Federer was playing solid tennis, the elusive victory felt within grasp.

"I'm getting closer," he joked at the start, referring to his previous losses in the Wimbledon semifinals. It was a perfect way to lose -- wounded but proud, defeated but respectful, head low while keeping it high.

Bravo, Andy.

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