The people of Britain woke up yesterday morning not quite sure what to do with themselves. London 2012 officially in the past, the euphoric feeling fading, how would we spend the days we have become so used to filling with endless sport and British gold medals?

As London paid its final farewell to the game with its athletes' parade, one of our gold medallists was absent – Andy Murray was preparing for his showdown with Novak Djokovic in the US Open Final in New York.

And the Olympic singles gold medallist served up the most thrilling of encores for the British public, 24 hours after the Paralympic Closing Ceremony. One of the most thrilling sporting spectacles of the summer and suddenly we'd moved on. Sit down Sir Chris, Dame Katherine, and the rest of the presumably soon to be knighted Olympians and Paralympians, and arise Sir Andy.

No British player had won a grand slam since 1936, when Fred Perry triumphed, also at the US Open. Murray himself had already lost four, and was being coached by a man famous for his ability to lose on the biggest occasions. Up against a man, in Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who has five grand slam titles to his name, went 43 matches unbeaten in 2011 and appears, on the face of it, only slightly weaker than last year.

They produced an incredible spectacle. Comparing sports is hazardous at best, but there is not much like tennis when two players are playing at the top of their game. Few sports can match it, each player required to make a tactical decision every single second, and then execute it using pace, power and technique all in one. And at times, like last night, for five hours in a row. Then, every few months, there is a gladiatorial contest between two of the world's top players in the final of a grand slam.

Andy Murray serves during his US Open men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic

Unusually for a grand slam final, the first three games of the match saw the player serving facing three break points at 40-0 down. Djokovic's first serve was poor, and his game littered with errors, and before long, Murray had control of the first set, only to see Djokovic wrest back the initiative and set up a tie breaker.

And what a tiebreaker it was. No player was ever more than one "mini break" ahead, and eventually Murray had the first set point of the match. And the second, third, fourth, fifth and finally, a sixth, which he finally took. Past 11pm British time, a nation wondered how it could wake up in time for work the next morning and sit through potentially four more hours of this.

So of course the nation gave sleep the proverbial middle finger and stayed up to witness British tennis history.

In the second set Djokovic, remarkably for a man who resembles the closest tennis comes to a "human wall", collapsed. He lost two break points, Murray seemed in cruise control. Then out of nowhere Murray was beaten on his service game by the Serb, who showed trademark resilience to then take a second break and level the set up. This was typical of a match that would swing one way and back more often than a British coalition Government, and force Boris Becker to proclaim at various points each set crucial to the match. It was almost as if, whisper it quietly, each set was of equal value. Murray, having ceded such a huge advantage, managed to turn the momentum back in his favour and broke Djokovic to go two sets up.

Novak Djokovic returns a shot in excellent form

It seemed only a matter of time until the 76-year wait came to an end. Then Djokovic did what he does best. Essentially, returning everything Murray could throw at him, and producing some blistering forehand winners as he produced the most aggressive tennis of the match, coming in from his service line frequently to hunt down the British challenger. An incredible backhand winner right onto the baseline put Djokovic two breaks of serves up and cruising.

That form won Djokovic sets three and four, setting up the decider, and all the momentum was with him.

Time for another twist then. Murray, out of nowhere, produced a genuine challenge to the Serb's serve, breaking him not once but twice, only then to throw away one of his own service games and give Djokovic hope. Murray was now aggressive, fitter and Djokovic making errors again. With the Briton a break up now, Djokovic was literally out on his feet, the energy seemingly sapped from his legs. By the end, Murray's victory was inevitable, as he won the last three games of the match for a famous triumph.

Andy Murray reacts with sheer disbelief following his win over Novak Djokovic in the US Open tennis tournament

Murray's feat is all the more remarkable considering the opposition he has had to overcome. Only a few in the open era have won their first grand slam title against a player who was a serial major winner. Murray happens to be in the unfortunate position of being up against three consistent grand slam winners in Spaniard Rafa Nadal, Djokovic and Switzerland's Roger Federer, perhaps the greatest player of all time. And the three of them won their first grand slam titles against players who had never won one either.

With each grand slam, Murray has seemed to get closer. He has been banging on the door for some time now, but victory over Djokovic and Federer at the Olympics seemed to herald him reach a new level. He has been unfairly labelled a bottler by some, and many have doubted his ability to win a slam, but Murray's victory showed that he can compete and beat the very best now.

It was the perfect end to a unique summer; ironically in one of those two sports which are competed at the Olympics, but whose pinnacle is elsewhere during the calendar. But Murray is one of our great Olympians too now, and it was the perfect way for Britain to live on the first night post London 2012.

Millions lined the streets, convinced it was all over – but there was this one last golden moment. Perfectly timed due to the American weather, which put back the final from its original scheduled slot on Sunday (September 9) night, and thanks to Murray, the Olympic spirit lived on for 24 hours longer than planned.

David Gold is a reporter for insidethegames