By Alix Ramsay
The large ship off had been fabulous. The precise ending was, fairly actually, a non-event.
Andy Murray’s Wimbledon profession ended abruptly in Saturday afternoon when Emma Raducanu introduced that she was withdrawing from the combined doubles with a stiff wrist. She had stood Murray up in what was speculated to be his final match on the All England Membership.
She didn’t appear too frightened about her wrist when she arrived on the membership, thoughts you. All smiles, stopping for selfies and photographs with passers by, she appeared blissful as a clam. However she was not going to play combined, not even with a retiring legend, late within the day on No.1 Courtroom, not when she had a fourth spherical singles match arising on Sunday.
It does beg the query why she had even contemplated combined doubles within the first place. When Murray texted her late one night final week to ask if she would play with him, she replied immediately. However when it got here to it, her singles got here first.
In a couple of days, perhaps Murray will assume it’s for the most effective. Having made the choice on Tuesday morning to not play singles (he had not recovered sufficiently from an operation to take away a cyst close to his spinal twine simply 10 days earlier than), the grand farewell was pinned on the boys’s doubles.
It was the prefect ending: Andy and Jamie enjoying collectively on Centre Courtroom for the primary – and, because it turned out – final time. Their household packed the gamers’ field. Poor Willie, the boys’ dad, regarded on the verge of tears from the very first ball. Judy was there with Kim, Andy’s spouse, and younger Sophia and Edie – his two older daughters.
Rinky Hijikata and John Friends had put a little bit of a dampener on proceedings by beating the Scots in straight units however, as Andy identified later, even enjoying doubles had been exhausting work so quickly after surgical procedure.
Then got here the ship off: Sue Barker got here again (she retired because the BBC’s Wimbledon anchor two years in the past) to host the ceremony and it started with a present reel of Andy’s best triumphs and tributes from Messrs Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. It was simply lengthy sufficient to be a tear-jerker however not too lengthy as to be maudlin. And all of the whereas Andy waited in trepidation – he knew what was coming subsequent.
Certain sufficient, Sue started her interview. Speak of triumphs previous was effective however then when it got here to discussing the lengthy street again from hip surgical procedure 5 years in the past, he started to choke up. And when Sue advised him that they have been now going to “discuss your loved ones”, he simply groaned “oh no”. He knew he couldn’t get via that with out crying. He was proper. Everybody was in tears.
Watched by a gaggle of his British Davis Cup workforce mates and a number of present and former gamers – Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Martina Navratilova, Laura Robson, Lleyton Hewitt, Holger Rune to call however a couple of – he was sobbing his last farewell to the match that had been so good to him and but had additionally triggered him such heartache (simply forged your thoughts again to his defeat to Federer in 2012 last).
Now he simply wished it to really feel proper as he left.
“I believe perhaps [I’m looking for] a little bit of closure,” he had stated earlier within the week “Yeah, I simply need the chance to play yet another time on the market hopefully on Centre Courtroom, and I don’t know, really feel that buzz.”
When it was lastly over, he had what he wished. “I don’t know, it appears like an ending to me,” he stated of the ceremony. “Whether or not I deserve it or not, I don’t know. However they did a very, actually good job.”
Of all of the 1000’s of phrases which have been written about Murray over time – and people many extra 1000’s written within the final couple of weeks – none actually picked out the one factor that Murray himself thinks he could be remembered for: perseverance. He by no means, ever gave up.
“I actually didn’t get the whole lot proper throughout my profession,” he admitted. “I used to be removed from excellent.
“I believe the factor that I did a very good job of throughout my profession was that, whatever the highs and lows, whether or not it was successful tournaments, having troublesome losses, an operation, a setback, the subsequent day I all the time got here into work with the identical dedication, work ethic, and fervour, as I had the day earlier than, whatever the highs and lows that the game sort of has thrown at me.
“I actually didn’t all the time get it proper. Like on the match days, I used to be not excellent by any stretch, however I did all the time come into work and put in a great day. I gave my finest effort.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m pleased with. So I suppose, I don’t know, it’s for different individuals to determine what my legacy could be. That’s the factor I’m most pleased with.”
Britain has by no means had a sportsman like him; British tennis by no means, in 1,000,000 years, thought it may produce one. The picture of the “plucky Brit” successful a few rounds at Wimbledon earlier than departing in tears and a taxi after a 3rd spherical pasting was shredded the second Murray walked via the gates in 2005. Murray was a warrior; for those who may choose one individual to struggle for you, it could be him.
However it was not British tennis that produced Andy Murray: it was his mum and pop. One household from a small city in Scotland who via the expertise of the 2 sons and the exhausting work, dedication and assist of each mother and father, produced two world No.1s with 10 grand slam titles between them.
As Djokovic stated in his tribute to his outdated sparring associate: “Typically it was such as you in opposition to the world.” And, at occasions it was but Murray took on the world and beat it: that high rating, wrenched from Djokovic’s grasp on the finish of 2016 and held till his hip gave out the next yr; three grand slam singles titles, 11 grand slam finals reached in all, two Olympic singles gold medals, the ATP Tour finals title and the 2015 Davis Cup.
And now it’s all however over. Murray nonetheless has each singles and doubles on the Olympics to return however his Wimbledon profession is finished. There’ll by no means be one other participant like him.
