Andy Murray thanked Wimbledon organisers for an “emotional” farewell ceremony after his final men’s doubles appearance with his brother Jamie began with a loss.
The two-time singles champion will play his final tournament at the All England Club before retiring later this year.
After the match, a video montage of Murray’s career was shown on a big screen at Centre Court, and the former world number one was moved to tears as thousands of fans showed their appreciation with a sustained applause.
“It’s a good ending for me. I don’t know if I deserved it, but they did a really good job,” said Murray, who won Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016.
The Murray brothers entered the match to a standing ovation from a packed Centre Court.
Another followed shortly afterwards, after a 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 defeat to Australian pair John Peers and Linky Hijikata.
Murray’s parents Judy and Will, his wife Kim and their two daughters looked on shortly after as former BBC presenter Sue Barker officiated the emotional ceremony.
Murray thanked his family, longtime team members and fans for their continued support.
“It’s tough because I want to keep playing and I can’t,” Murray said on court.
“It’s too tough physically right now. I want to keep playing. I love this sport.”
Grand Slam winners Novak Djokovic, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe and Iga Swiatek applauded from the sidelines, as did Tim Henman, whom Murray took from the British men’s singles No. 1 ranking in 2005, and current players Dan Evans, Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie.
Murray is due to compete again later this week in mixed doubles with fellow Grand Slam champion Emma Raducanu, also of Great Britain.
“Obviously playing with Jamie was very special, I never got the chance before,” said Murray, who won the first of his triple major title at the 2012 U.S. Open.
“It was a race against time to get to this point, and it wasn’t easy physically, but I’m glad we were able to see it through together.”
Why Wimbledon is so important to Murray
Wimbledon has been the site of many defining moments in Murray’s career and the emotional connection is why he fought so hard to play one last time.
Murray’s chances of a final big performance were in serious doubt.
During a game in Queens three weeks ago, back pain caused him to lose strength and feeling in his right leg.
The only option was to undergo surgery on June 22 to remove a cyst near his spine, but Murray now faces a race against time to recover.
In the end, he put off making a decision until the night before his singles match was scheduled for Tuesday, then painfully realized he couldn’t play a five-set match.
Being able to play alongside Jamie, 38, in the shorter doubles format was the next best thing.
The plan, originally drawn up to coincide with the French Open in late May, has come to fruition.
It was the first time since 1995 that a first-round men’s doubles match had been played on Centre Court.
This opportunity could not have been scheduled anywhere else.
Murray reached his first Wimbledon final in 2012 but was left in tears after losing a four-set match to Roger Federer, which changed the public’s perception of him.
Four weeks later, he made amends by winning the Olympic singles gold medal on the same court and against the same opponent.
A year later, Murray defeated world number one Djokovic in a moment of national celebration to become Britain’s first Wimbledon men’s singles champion in 77 years.
His other victory at the All England Club came in 2016 and he said that was more enjoyable.
After winning both matches, Murray, as is tradition, walked back down Centre Court’s marble corridor, received a salute and then stepped out onto the balcony to greet the ecstatic fans below.
Murray staged a similar ceremonial procession again on Thursday night.
Murray never won a trophy again, but it was a fitting farewell for a player who had led British tennis so brilliantly.
An inspiring day unfolds
The fourth day of this year’s championship was dominated by talk of the Super Murray brothers.
Wimbledon’s famous queue, where fans queue overnight to get first-come, first-served tickets for the following day, had grown to 11,000 hopefuls by mid-morning.
Of course, the Mariners were there too, a group of die-hard fans who had travelled from all over the world to see their heroes, camped out in Wimbledon Park and were rewarded with tickets to Centre Court.
If I hadn’t brought a tent and sleeping bag, I would have had to set my alarm for the nightclub to close.
Inside the All England Club, fans unlucky enough to not have court tickets had gathered on Henman Hill – or rather Murray Mound – where hundreds of fans, with picnics and blankets, stayed in place all day.
Back at the Centre, supporters took a breather after Swiatek, the top seed in the women’s singles, won in straight sets at around 18:30 BST.
And then the stage modifications began: the net and singles posts were removed and replaced with a longer doubles version.
During the 30-minute turnaround, close members of the Murray family were seated and the atmosphere was electric.
Andy’s wife Kim was flanked by their daughters, with their mother Judy next to them, and his father Will had travelled from Scotland to watch the game.
Andy Murray insisted his brothers were not just playing for show and were more likely to win matches and go far in tournaments.
The match did not go as they expected.
From the third match onwards, it was clear that the younger Murray was struggling with his movements.
However, the “will to win” that became the epitome of his tennis career remained undiminished.
He was seen baring his teeth and pumping his fist as usual, as well as grousing at teammates.
Unfortunately, his body wasn’t functioning the way his mind wanted it to, a recurring problem over the past five and a half years.
At the 2019 Australian Open, Murray broke down in tears during a press conference as he said he thought he would have to retire later that year because of a hip injury.
No singles player has returned to professional tennis after resurfacing surgery.
Not only did the metal-hip Murray return, he won an ATP Tour title later that year, with more memorable moments at Grand Slams to follow.
However, he was never able to regain the level that made him one of the best players of his generation.
“The injuries are horrific, they’re pretty serious,” he said.
“We’ve been practicing so hard to get on the court and compete. It probably wasn’t at the level any of us would have liked, but we tried.”
