Smash hit

British expatriates and holidaymakers skipped work and cancelled sightseeing plans to cheer Murray in his bid to become the first British man to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936.

The "Tartan Army" supporting the Scot was constrained by the tennis tournament's refusal to sell flags and scarves inside the ground, and some fans were disappointed that they could not even find face-paint.

But Emma Jenkins, of Haverford West, Wales, and Ben Lusk, of Brighton, both 20, cleverly transformed their "I LOVE NY" T-shirts into "I LOVE ANDY" T-shirts with the addition of a well-placed A and D.

"I love Andy," Ms Jenkins, who had been teaching at summer camp in Massachusetts, said. "He is so young. He has come up so fast. He has done such a good thing for tennis in the UK."

Times Archive, 1936: F. J. Perry's great victory

Perry played like the champion he is and simply overwhelmed Budge with perfectly placed drives and unreturnable services

• Victory of Perry, 1933

• Perry's fine record, 1934

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"I think he is really focused. You can tell he is really passionate about the game," she said.

Murray, from Dunblane, scored an upset 6-2, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Spain's world number one and Olympic gold medalist Rafael Nadal in a rain-interrupted semi-final over two days at the weekend.

Despite getting only little rest, he was battling last night the beat 12-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer, seeking his fifth consecutive US Open win.

"Murray's fabulous. The guy is top class'," said Gregory Joseph, a British expatriate who works at a hedge fund in New York.

"He has it all: he does not volley much but he can volley; his backhand cross-court is tremendously strong; and he has got that squash forehand stroke that seems to get him out of a lot of trouble. He has got a great first serve.

"He seems to have pulled himself together. There is no doubt he was quite immature for a time.

Roger Juckes, an IT project manager from Bristol, decided to spend the last day of his New York holiday queueing for tickets when he heard Murray had made the final.

"It's a last-minute thing," he said. "He beat Nadal, who is number one, so he has a good chance to beat Federer. Maybe it's Murray's turn."