Andy Murray is preparing for retirement upon the conclusion of the Paris Olympic games.
Astounding scenes unfurled on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Sunday as Andy Murray and Dan Evans survived five match points against Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel to win in a thrilling three-sets.
With the three-time major winner having swept up three Olympic medals in his career, including consecutive golds in London and Rio de Janeiro, Murray confirmed last week that this will be his last time on the professional tour.
While Murray’s double Wimbledon triumph has cemented his legacy as one of Britain’s best ever sportsmen, he has also had quite the impact on his fellow ATP Tour mates.
American duo Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton are both slightly newer to the tour, with Shelton having never played the Scot.
Nevertheless, the pair will have grown up watching Murray’s on-court heroics and triumphs and as a result have issued their three-word takes on the Team GB star as his career concludes.
How did Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton describe Andy Murray?
Fritz has personal playing experience against Murray, and while their contests were certainly towards the twilight of the Brit’s career, the American managed to win both.
In a video montage created by the ATP and shared on X, stars from both the men’s and women’s tour gave their time to try and sum up the career of Britain’s finest tennis star.
Fritz used the words ‘competitor’, ‘resilient’, and ‘funny’, while Shelton opted for ‘persistent’, ‘tough’, and ‘cheeky’.
With Murray a real fighter on court, the pair’s comments ring completely true, with the Brit’s speed, agility and resolve the three core characteristics that propelled him to his haul of career stardom.
Probably just behind Novak Djokovic as the best returner of this generation, Murray has rightly deserved the send-off he’s getting, with his commitment to the sport still completely unwavering.
Can Andy Murray cap off his legendary career with another Olympic medal?
With Murray’s last minute withdrawal from the Wimbledon singles event, the British crowd could barely contain their disappointment that their hero would not get to see out his career on the terms he would have liked.
When Murray pulled out of the Olympic singles at the eleventh hour, it felt like his career was coming to a slightly underwhelming conclusion.
However, with their remarkable doubles comeback on Sunday, Murray and Evans are set to take on either Belgian pair Sander Gille and Joran Vilegen or French eighth seeds Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert.
If the British duo are to forge a run at the games, they will have to work on their chemistry somewhat, with the pair looking slightly out of sorts in the opening hour.
With Murray already a medalist in the Olympic mixed doubles, he’s certainly got the experience and drive to do it on the biggest of stages.
With one last dance still possible, there’s little doubt that Murray will do absolutely everything he can to go out on a well deserved high.
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