Andy Murray takes time out to heal

Andy Murray will be taking time away from the tennis court after losing out in his bid to make Wimbledon history.

The 25-year-old broke down in tears after night losing 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 in Sunday's men's final to Roger Federer.

Murray was hoping to become the first British man to win the title since Fred Perry in 1936, but instead it was Federer who made history, equalling Pete Sampras's record of seven Wimbledon titles.

The Swiss veteran now has a total of 17 grand slams, and has restored his world number one ranking.

Murray broke down in tears as he thanked his family and the crowd, who roared to deafening applause throughout the match.

The Scot, who is representing Great Britain in the Olympics in just a few weeks, said he does not know how long he plans to take off tennis.

"Until my mind is right," he said. "There's no point in going on the court until I'm ready to go out there and learn and work hard and do the right things in the gym and in practice because there's just no point.

"So I'll wait and see how my body recovers after the next few days.

"I fell a lot of times this tournament. I got a lot of bruises all over my body and stuff.

"So I need to take a few days off, let everything heal, recover, and then see.

"But I won't be on the court next week, that's for sure."

Murray's unusual display of emotion on court took fans by surprise, also reducing girlfriend Kim Sears and mother Judy Murray to tears.

"I'm going to try this and it's not going to be easy," he said, to cheers from the 15,000-strong crowd.

He congratulated 30-year-old Federer and thanked "Team Murray" for their support.

"I'm going to try and not look at them because I'll probably start crying again but everyone who is in that corner over there, who has supported me...we did a great job, so thank you.

"And last of all to you guys," he told the crowd. "Everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon, how difficult it is.

"It's not the people watching, they make it so much easier to play.

"The support has been incredible," he added, breaking down.

Praise has poured in for the Scot, despite his loss.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Andy played an outstanding match and did Scotland proud.

"For Andy there is not just next year, but as he said himself he is getting ever closer to that grand slam breakthrough."

And his brother, fellow tennis player Jamie Murray, wrote on Twitter: "My Brother is a champion. He may not have won but he is a champion."

Federer, whose wife Mirka watched with their twins Myla Rose and Charlene Riva, said: "I think he's done so, so well, to be quite honest.

"I really do believe deep down in me he will win Grand Slams, not just one. I do wish him all the best. This is genuine. He works extremely hard. He's as professional as you can be.

"Things just didn't quite turn out for him in the finals that he hoped for. But today I'm sure he got another step closer to a Grand Slam title for him. I really do believe and hope for him that he's going to win one soon."

He added: "The victory today is a dream come true for me and my family, you know, seeing them there. Yeah, it's big."

Murray was watched by a galaxy of stars in the Royal Box, including the Duchess of Cambridge and sister Pippa Middleton, David and Victoria Beckham, and Prime Minister David Cameron.

Also present were Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, London Mayor Boris Johnson, and a host of former tennis stars, while Rupert Murdoch and his wife were also watching.

The Scot revealed he apologised to Federer for his show of emotion during the on-court interview.

"I just said to him, 'sorry. I didn't obviously want that to happen'.

"You feel like you're kind of attention seeking or something. It was not like that at all."

He said the atmosphere on the court was "unbelievable, one of the best I've played in".

He added: "The atmosphere was great. The support was great. I hope it was a good match, even though obviously I lost. I hope everyone enjoyed it."