Tears welled in Andy Murray’s eyes as he walked alone onto the courtroom to wave goodbye to skilled tennis, his profession over after a loss within the Paris Olympics doubles quarterfinals Thursday night time.
The 37-year-old Murray had mentioned the 2024 Summer season Video games could be his final occasion, and he and accomplice Dan Evans have been crushed by the American duo of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-4 at Courtroom Suzanne Lenglen.
“I knew that second was coming for the previous couple of months. If it didn’t occur immediately, that was going to be in a pair days’ time, and I used to be prepared for it. Clearly, I used to be emotional, as a result of it’s the final time I’ll play a aggressive match. However I’m genuinely blissful, simply now. I’m proud of the way it’s completed,” mentioned Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion and the one participant in tennis historical past with two Summer season Video games singles golds.
“I am glad I bought to exit right here on the Olympics and end on my phrases,” he mentioned, “as a result of at occasions in the previous couple of years, that wasn’t a certainty.”
Murray has handled a sequence of accidents within the latter levels of his profession, together with needing two hip operations, one for a steel implant in 2019. Most lately, he had surgical procedure to take away a cyst from his backbone in June, forcing him to drag out of singles at Wimbledon and the Olympics; he solely entered doubles at each.
“The ache and discomfort in my physique will not be good, and that’s additionally why I’m blissful to be ending. If I stored going and stored making an attempt, finally you find yourself having an damage probably ending your profession,” Murray mentioned. “So I do know that now’s the precise time. Bodily, it has been actually laborious.”
The British pair had managed to stave off a complete of seven match factors — nicely, on this case, let’s name them “retirement factors” — earlier within the event, 5 within the first spherical after which two extra within the second spherical, to increase Murray’s profession.
However Murray and Evans couldn’t create that kind of magic once more in opposition to the third-seeded Fritz and Paul.
“These guys have been good immediately. That’s the underside line,” Evans mentioned. “And we weren’t.”
Murray received Wimbledon twice and the U.S. Open as soon as, alongside together with his Olympic golds from London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. His first Wimbledon championship, in 2013, made Murray the primary man from Britain to win that trophy in 77 years.
He additionally received the title on the All England Membership in 2016; his preliminary main championship got here on the U.S. Open in 2012.
When Thursday’s match ended, there was a standing ovation from the group. Evans applauded, too, as did Fritz and Paul.
“We have been pumped as much as win, however it’s unhappy, I assume, to see it finish for Andy. He’s somebody that each of us have regarded as much as for a really very long time. He’s an amazing man,” Fritz mentioned. “I don’t take a variety of satisfaction in doing it, however we’re right here to win a medal.”
Paul and Fritz will face Matt Ebden and John Friends of Australia subsequent. The opposite semifinal is the fourth-seeded crew of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram of the U.S. in opposition to Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic.
On his method off the courtroom as a competitor for the final time, Murray stopped and signed autographs for followers.
He might be remembered perpetually as somebody who made essentially the most of his expertise and managed to elbow his method in among the many Large Three of males’s tennis — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who’ve a mixed 66 Grand Slam singles trophies — to say these three of his personal.
Completed a season at No. 1 within the rankings, too.
“Simply unbelievable resilience all through all his profession,” Djokovic mentioned final month. “A number of Grand Slam winner. Legend of the sport.”
A grinding recreation fashion, primarily on the baseline, very good returning and a never-give-up perspective propelled Murray to success on the tennis courtroom and recognition away from it. He has been an advocate for girls within the sport, together with hiring Amelie Mauresmo as his coach — a uncommon occasion of a high male participant working with a feminine coach — and by no means been shy about voicing his opinions on varied points that affected his sport or society at massive.
As for what comes subsequent, Murray mentioned he is undecided, though he did point out he did not like being a TV commentator when he tried it previously.
For now, although, he’ll take a break, and finally determine what to do.
“If that’s nothing — and being at residence and being with my household and being a dad,” Murray mentioned, “that’s one thing I sit up for.”