After losing against Dan Evans in the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics, the Scot decided to retire.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal paid respect to Andy Murray after the former world number one announced his retirement.
Murray delivered a sorrowful, prolonged gesture to all sides of Court Suzanne Lenglen after he and Dan Evans were defeated in the quarterfinals of the Olympic men’s doubles on Thursday night, his final match of his career.
The Scot follows Federer in hanging up his racket, as the 20-time grand slam champion sent Murray a video message congratulating him on his accomplishments.
“Hey Andy, many, many congratulations my friend on an incredible career – Wimbledon champion, US Open champion, Davis Cup champion, Olympic champion and many more things you have achieved,” tweeted Federer.
“There are so many Masters 1000s, world number one, and a sir. So, Sir Andy Murray, congratulations on a truly remarkable career.
“A fantastic human being doing it all with a large family at the end, and a hip and a body that clearly wasn’t giving you what you wanted any longer. But you’ve been a great inspiration to me and many other players, and I’m glad you were able to do it for so long.
“I have a lot of respect for you, Andy. I enjoyed playing against you, even though I lost so many times, and it was horrible. Congratulations on what you’ve accomplished and what’s to come. Best wishes, and I am confident we will see each other again down the line. Enjoy the moment.
All the memories, all the moments shared… 🥺@RafaelNadal reminisces on his time with @andy_murray🙌 #SirAndy pic.twitter.com/kngf2xyUFa
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 2, 2024
Nadal and Novak Djokovic are currently the only active members of the ‘big four’ who dominated the sport for a decade, and the Spaniard’s future is also uncertain.
Nadal also sent Murray a video message in which he stated, “I am very sad to do this video because you are one of the players that the locker room loves the most, for your character, for your charisma, and for the way you have always been with me personally and with the rest of the players.”
“I really appreciated being a rival and a nice colleague on the trip. I believe we shared and had some fantastic moments together. I’d just like to congratulate you on everything.
“You achieved your dream of becoming one of the best players of the world. The best, some moments, and doing amazing things for the world of tennis.
A very warm welcome for a very special person. ❤️
Andy Murray received a guard of honour from Team GB as he arrived back. 🤝#Paris2024 #BBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/iBUA5PDRH0
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 2, 2024
“Just wish you sincerely all the very best in your future with the family, having fun, and I hope to keep in touch and see you around very often. All the best my friend.”
Murray was greeted with a guard of honour as he arrived at Team GB’s performance lodge in Paris on Friday morning.
He will not be returning home immediately, as the 37-year-old will be joined by wife Kim and his eldest daughter Sophia to see some Olympic athletic action over the following several days.
In an interview with Eurosport, Murray claimed he was “just looking forward to what’s next now” and disclosed that he had gotten a message from Bjorn Borg.
“He said, ‘Congrats to one of the all-time greats, good luck for what’s next’,” according to Murray.
“I’m very aware that the guys I was competing against had significantly better careers than I have.
“But, for a period in the middle part of my career, I was competing with them in the biggest tournaments consistently and I managed to get to number one in the world whilst they were all playing and that meant a lot to me.
“It hasn’t been easy to win the major competitions whilst they’ve been around. So, to have someone of that stature recognise that was obviously really special.”