After letting his fans live through two thrilling contests, saving match points across the first two rounds, Andy Murray bowed out of the Olympics and professional tennis with a heartbreaking straight-sets defeat.
The two-time gold medallist was hoping to get his hands on one more ribbon in his retirement tournament, having teamed up with Dan Evans in the doubles.
But he fell short in the quarter-final for the second consecutive Olympic Games as they suffered a 6-2 6-4 defeat to Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul of the USA in the quarter-final.
Had they reached the semis, they would have at least been guaranteed the chance to play for bronze. Instead, Murray officially went from an active to former tennis player.
Last week, ahead of the Paris 2024 Games, Murray confirmed that it would be his “last ever tennis tournament”. But the former world No. 1 kept his career alive by the skin of his teeth, as he and Evans saved five consecutive match points in the first round and two more in round two.
But this match was by far the most important. Win and they would reach the semis, where the losers get to play in the bronze medal play-off and the winners get to the gold medal contest, at least guaranteeing a silver. They were up against another pairing of singles players in Fritz and Paul, who are both ranked in the top 15.
Ahead of the match, Paul shared his hopes of retiring Murray. And they got off to a fast start, reeling off winners to take a 4-0 double-break lead. An ace from Evans got the Brits on the board but the Americans took the first set with no trouble in just half an hour.
Murray and Evans looked dejected as a Fritz return winner caught the line to take a 0-30 lead as the Scot served at 1-1. And Evans hung his head as he dumped the ball in the net to gift their opponents three break points. Fritz sent another winner straight down the middle of the court to convert their second.
The three-time Grand Slam champion sat down at the changeover, his career a ticking time bomb with minutes to spare. But Murray wasn’t thinking about his retirement – he remained laser-focused, discussing tactics with Evans while teetering on the tightrope of retirement. Fritz and Paul were keen to push him into the role of a former player and quickly snatched a double break with another winner – their combined 10th of the night.
But Murray wasn’t going to go out without a fight. Labelled a “warrior” by Novak Djokovic several times this week, he showed why and immediately got one of the breaks back, taking the ball out of the air to win the point and roaring in celebration. It was more of a struggle for Murray on serve. Having undergone spinal cyst surgery in late June, he had lost a lot of power on the shot.
And a double break gave the Americans the chance to serve for a spot in the semis – and to end the former world No. 1’s glittering career. But Murray had a bit left in the tank. He saved a match point with a smash winner before he and Evans won an enthralling cat-and-mouse exchange to bring up a break point, a lifeline for the Scot. And Murray had one last Harry Houdini escape act in him. It took them five break points to get the job done but a Fritz error extended his career.
The American duo had another chance to serve it out. This time, the pressure was on Fritz’s shoulders. 24 hours after admitting that “the goal” was to win a match point if they had one, the world No. 13 made sure that they didn’t blow it on their second opportunity and sent the former world No. 1, three-time Grand Slam champion and two-time gold medallist into retirement.
