Wimbledon 2012: Through wind and rain fans cheered Murray on A former Wimbledon steward, the 25-year-old knew exactly what she had to do when she landed at Heathrow and heard the jaw-dropping news: she went straight to the All England Tennis Club, where she joined her friends in the queue for the £8 ground passes that would allow them to watch from Murray Mound. Sitting on Murray Mound yesterday morning, she was still wearing a pink jumper bearing the legend of her trip to Africa: an epic journey from Cape Town to Kenya, camping all the way. I've seen lions and leopards but sleeping in a puddle in a car park on Saturday night was a little more difficult.There was driving rain and lightning, and I haven't really slept since before I got on the flight in Africa. But what else was I going to do? Go home? But that wouldn't be very British, and there really is nothing more British than queuing in the rain for hours and hours, to watch someone lose. She camped nearby Dan Golding, 23, and Lydia Payne, 21, who were wearing clothes fashioned almost entirely from Union Jack tea-towels. Wearing them since they arrived on Friday night, the couple were now administering deodorant in order to keep up appearances. "This is the best weekend ever!" exclaimed Dan, whose spirits did not once fade. His friend, 23-year-old Ros Carswel, is Scottish; his driving licence testament to his middle names, Andrew and Murray. I had to be here. Scotland never win at anything, but this is like a win to me. He had spent the night wrapped in a bin-liner. The weather - blazing sunshine one moment, chucking it down with rain the next - somehow reflected the mood of the crowd. The Federer fans - and there were a few - kept mostly quiet, only allowing themselves to cheer towards the end. But the Swiss player's talent transcended even patriotism: how could anyone begrudge him this victory? "You have to clap in the end," sighed Ross 'Andrew Murray' Carswell, as Federer fell to the floor in triumph. He's just so good. At least Andy lost to someone so brilliant. Though there were a few tears, they seemed mostly from tiredness. As Mr Golding applauded his hardy, sleep-deprived friends, by now down to their final two soggy chocolate biscuits, he just about summed up the attitude of the crowd: "Hey, losing is just what us Brits are used to, isn't it?" He allowed himself his first yawn of the day. That, and queuing.