Andy Murray was given a fitting farewell at Wimbledon as he prepares to bring the curtain down on his stunning career.
The veteran was forced to withdraw from the singles event due to injury, with the Scot having waited until the very last minute to make the decision.
Murray did, however, give the home fans something to cheer about when confirming he would play men’s doubles alongside his brother Jamie.
Further delight arrived when the veteran also made the decision to play in the Wimbledon mixed doubles event.
Murray will line out with fellow Briton Emma Raducanu in the competition, with the latter claiming it took her just 10 seconds to accept the former’s offer.
Serena Williams and Coco Gauff send Andy Murray messages
The three-time Grand Slam champion did, however, suffer early heartbreak with Jamie, with the pair losing 7-6(8-6), 6-4 to John Peers and Rinky Hijikata in round one.
The tributes have been pouring in for the two-time Wimbledon winner following the loss, with Greg Rusedski labelling him ‘the greatest British tennis player in the Open Era’.
Women’s star Coco Gauff is one of the latest to join in, with the American tagging Murray on X and writing: ‘Forever a legend’.
Her fellow American Serena Williams meanwhile posted a heartfelt video on X, saying: “Congratulations to you Andy Murray for such an incredible career.
“I have to say I have always enjoyed watching you. One of the main reasons is because you are one of the players who would be more angry than me on court, which is very hard to do and you may have an attitude which is a bit like mine, let’s just say!
“But to me it was the most exciting thing to watch and I had the pleasure of playing mixed doubles by your side which was such a fantastic experience to do that at Wimbledon, and it was one of the highlights of my life.
“I am just so grateful I had that experience and I hold a special place in my heart to you, because you speak out so much for women. You were the leader on that.
“The things you said about myself and Venus about how we were so inspiring and what we meant to you, went such a long way in my heart and I will always be grateful for that.”
How did Andy Murray and Serena Williams do at Wimbledon?
Murray famously partnered with Williams in the 2019 Wimbledon mixed doubles, with the duo being dubbed ‘MurRena’.
The star pairing made it to the third round of the competition, beating Alexa Guarachi and Andreas Mies and Raquel Atawo and Fabrice Martin in rounds one and two respectively.
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But MurRena finally fell at the third round stage, with top seeds Nicole Melichar and Bruno Soares bringing their fairytale to an end.
Their siblings Venus and Jamie famously recreated the Williams and Murray partnership at Wimbledon three years later, with the pair losing in the second round in 2022.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray deserving of plaudits
Despite the defeat, Wimbledon paid tribute to the 37-year-old with a montage of his best bits and kind words from many of his rivals.
And Murray certainly deserves all of the plaudits, having given so much to the sport over his lengthy, trophy-laden career.
It is one that has sadly been hampered by serious injuries, particularly in more recent times, but he will retire as one of the greatest players tennis has ever seen.
Among his 46 titles are two Wimbledon successes and one US Open success, with Murray also winning two Olympic gold medals.
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