Andy Murray played his last professional match on Thursday. He and Daniel Evans played for the semi-finals of the doubles at the Olympic Games in Paris. Unfortunately, he lost to the American duo Taylor Fritz – Tommy Paul 2:6, 4:6, ending his tennis career at the age of 37.
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Andy Murray’s last games and last match. He made a decision. “I’m really happy”
Murray, who hails from Glasgow, has been an icon of world tennis for years. He has won 46 ATP singles tournaments and 3 doubles. In 2012, he triumphed at the US Open. A year later, he was the best at Wimbledon. He managed to repeat this result in 2016. The Scot also took the Olympic Games very seriously. In 2012, he won gold in the singles in London and silver with Laura Robson in the mixed doubles. Four years later, in Rio de Janeiro, he defended his gold in the singles. It was at the Games that he decided to play for the last time.
In Paris, he was unable to compete in the singles tournament, but he did play in the doubles with Daniel Evans. The British pair defeated the Japanese Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel in the first round. They then beat the Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, which put them in the quarterfinals. They didn’t make it to the medals, as Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul were better on Thursday.
After the defeat, it became clear that Murray was ending his career, which is why he said goodbye to the audience. “I knew for a few months that this moment was coming. If it didn’t happen today, it would happen in a few days and I was ready for it. Of course I was emotional because it was my last match. Now I’m really happy. I’m happy with how it ended,” he said, quoted by the Guardian.
Murray bids farewell to fans: “I never liked tennis”
In turn, in an interview with Eurosport, he explained that his decision was influenced by health problems. “It’s difficult. It’s a shame that in the end I couldn’t do everything I wanted on the court. My health didn’t allow me to. I’m happy with what I’ve achieved. I worked very hard for all the results. I had difficult moments, but I’m proud. At some point, my body couldn’t handle it anymore and it showed me. Now it’s time to rest,” he admitted.
In the end, Murray decided to joke a bit and on social media, instead of a lengthy, moving farewell, he only said: “Anyway, I never liked tennis.”
Murray’s last singles match was on June 19 at the ATP tournament in London, when he faced Australian Jordan Thompson and retired at 1:4. His last victory was against Alexei Popyrin the day before.