A teary but somewhat at-peace Andy Murray conceded this felt like the end as Wimbledon paid tribute to its British hero on what is likely to represent his farewell appearance at the All England Club before retirement.
Murray, having decided not to partake in singles following recent back surgery, was greeted by an emotional and fired-up crowd desperate to remind him of their love as he teamed up alongside brother Jamie in the men’s doubles on Thursday.
A fairytale run wasn’t to be for the pair as they were beaten in straight sets by Rinky Hijikata and John Peers, but that would not deter from a fitting send off.
Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Cam Norrie, Dan Evans and Jack Draper were among those to take to Centre Court after the match as a montage reminded Murray of his most memorable moments before he reflected on the highs and lows of his rollercoaster career.
“It wasn’t something that I’d asked for,” said Murray. “When I was making the decision around the singles, the club spoke to me and said they would like to do something after one of my matches here. I think if I’d played singles, then would do it after I potentially lost in the singles. If the singles doesn’t happen, we’d like to have it after the first doubles match, regardless of the result.
“I’m thankful to them that they did it. I don’t know, it feels like an ending to me. Whether I deserve it or not, I don’t know. But they did a really, really good job.”
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Djokovic all featured in the video capturing Murray’s time in tennis, with his unrivalled will to shatter barriers, pick himself up and defy the challenges proving a common theme within their admiration.
The message from Murray has always been the same. He never wants to stop playing tennis; only when his body tells him he can no longer do so would he walk away. Having overcome countless injuries to shatter the odds, he admitted it feels like the time.
Andy Murray and Sue Barker reflect on the Scot’s remarkable career
“I’m ready to finish playing,” he added. “I don’t want that to be the case. I would love to play, like I said, forever. But, today, even though it was a doubles match where physically it’s obviously not as demanding, it’s still really hard for me.
“My serve speeds and everything are like so far behind where they usually would be. I’m sure that would come back with time once I recover from the injury and everything.
“This year’s been tough with the ankle, then obviously the back surgery, obviously the hip. I’m ready to finish playing because I can’t play to the level that I would want to anymore.
“That’s something that I guess is a bit out of my control. If I knew my body was going to be able to do it, I would play – there’s nothing about the sport that I hate and I’m like, I don’t want to do it anymore for this reason. I like the travelling. I love the competition, practicing, trying to get better, all those things.
“I know that it’s time now. Yeah, I’m ready for that.”
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Britain’s Jacob Fearnley talks about his experience playing Novak Djokovic in the second round at Wimbledon and says he believes Andy Murray is Britain’s greatest athlete
As far as legacy is concerned, it’s not a topic Murray has often allowed his mind to venture towards such has been the desire to play on.
From a competing standpoint, at his best he posed as the nightmare opponent with every shot in the book and an undefeated work ethic across the court to match. Behind the scenes, he battled through gruelling injury setbacks to extend his career far longer than most projected at one stage, and far longer than most players might have lasted.
“I find them quite difficult questions for me to answer because I don’t think it’s for me to sort of say how I’d want other people to view me,” he admitted. “There’s things in my career that I’m really proud of. I certainly didn’t get everything right during my career. I was far from perfect.
“I think the thing that I did a really good job of during my career was that, regardless of the highs and lows, whether it was winning tournaments, having difficult losses, an operation, a setback, that I was able to treat the next day, like I always came into work with the same dedication, work ethic, and passion, as I had the day before, regardless of the highs and lows that the sport kind of has thrown at me.
“I certainly didn’t always get it right. Like on the match days, I was not perfect by any stretch, but I did always come into work and put in a good day. I gave my best effort. That’s what I’m proud of.”
Murray will play at least one final match at Wimbledon as he teams up with Emma Raducanu in the mixed doubles this weekend.
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