Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray enjoyed a superb rivalry over the years, with that rivalry now coming to an end.
The Scot has called time on his career after his latest Olympics defeat, with Carlos Alcaraz reacting to Murray’s retirement.
The latter has decided to hang up his racket after losing in the men’s doubles quarter-finals with partner Dan Evans.
Murray and Evans made it to the quarter-finals in Paris, but were ultimately defeated by Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
It was a bittersweet win for the American duo, with Fritz sad to ‘see it end’ for Murray after their battle on the clay court.
Novak Djokovic highlights one Andy Murray match after his retirement
Fellow men’s star Djokovic has now taken time to look back on Murray’s superb career, picking out one of their encounters in particular.
The hugely talented duo met 36 times on the court, with the Serbian winning 25 times and the Scot winning the other 11.
“Andy, we were all hoping that this moment will never come, but here it is,” Djokovic told the ATP Tour. “I just want to say congratulations for an amazing career, multiple Grand Slams, number one in the world, two Olympic gold medals, Davis Cup.
“I mean, you’ve done it all, amazing really. Congratulations to you, to your family. We go back a very long time.
“I think we were 11 since we met for the first time on the court. We had incredible encounters, rivalries, we played finals of every single Grand Slam.
“You brought the Wimbledon title to Britain and to the UK after 77 years, unfortunately against me in the final. But it was a quite a special historic moment that I cherish, that I was really grateful to be part of.”
Novak Djokovic praises Andy Murray’s resilience
Both Djokovic and Murray perhaps know about injury struggles more than most, at least in more recent times for the former.
The Serbian star withdrew from the French Open earlier this year with a knee injury, which required surgery.
But the 24-time Grand Slam champion recovered in time to play at Wimbledon, with a back problem ruling Murray out of the singles event.
Murray did, however, manage to play in the men’s doubles at SW19 and now at the Olympics, with Djokovic full of praise for the Scot’s mental attitude.
“You can be proud of the incredible resilience and fighting spirit and inspiration that you give to all of us really, after all the hardship that you went through, surgery, restrictions in your movement, you still kept going, you still have shown to everyone that you know there’s no letting go, no giving up,” Djokovic added.
“So kudos to you and all the best to you and your family and you deserve the best possible farewell. Bye bye my friend.”
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