A tearful Andy Murray was honoured on Centre Court in one of the final moments of his Wimbledon career. The 37-year-old was given a hero’s reception as he began his last appearance alongside his brother Jamie in the men’s doubles but the pair were beaten by Rinky Hijikata and John Peers. Murray still has mixed doubles to come with Emma Raducanu but the All England Club took the opportunity to celebrate his historic career.
Loud cheers greeted the return to Centre Court of Sue Barker along with greats of the game like John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova and Murray’s great rival Novak Djokovic. But the loudest ovation was, of course, reserved for Murray, who could not hold back the tears after a video montage telling the story of his career, with contributions from Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, played on the screens. Looking back through the memories with Barker, he said: “I’ll try and keep it quick, two of my kids are up there and it’s way past their bedtime.
” Andy Murray with Sue Barker (Zac Goodwin/PA) Murray described his Olympic gold medal in 2012 as “one of my favourite days I’ve ever had,” and said sarcastically of his rivalry with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer: “They were all right weren’t they?” Of his era-defining 2013 success, he said: “I did find it pretty stressful, it wasn’t easy.” He made sure he celebrated fully in 2016, admitting that he vomited in a taxi on the way home. There were oohs from the crowd when Murray said he.