LONDON: More than a quarter of the British population tuned in to watch home favourite Andy Murray in the Wimbledon men's final, figures released Monday showed.

Murray's failed bid Sunday to become the first British Wimbledon men's singles champion since 1936 drew the highest domestic television audience for a Wimbledon final since at least 1990, the BBC said.

The BBC said viewing figures for the nailbiting match peaked at 16.9 million.

The Office for National Statistics' latest population estimate, for mid-2010, gives a figure of 62.262 million, meaning that around 27 percent of the British population tuned in to watch the match.

Murray, the first British Wimbledon men's finalist since 1938, was beaten 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 by Swiss great Roger Federer, who won his seventh Wimbledon crown and returned to the top of the world rankings.

Emotionally drained, the British number one broke down in tears during his post-match interview on court.

Figures showed that an average of 11.4 million viewers tuned in for the duration of the BBC's coverage.

The match lasted three hours and 24 minutes, excluding a rain break. AGENCIES