The local idol lost to his brother Jamie and will retire from the London grass with Raducanu in the mixed doubles
MADRID, 4 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Scottish tennis player Andy Murray was eliminated in the doubles with his brother Jamie on Thursday in his last participation at Wimbledon, pending the mixed doubles that he will play with the British Emma Raducanu, in a day of tribute on the Centre Court that also saw the victories of Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in the second round, and the elimination of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Murray, champion in 2013 and 2016, announced at the last minute this week that he would withdraw from the singles draw after undergoing surgery on his back for a cyst and, although his retirement plans are still unclear, he has long indicated that this summer would be the end of his career. At the All England Tennis Club, tribute was paid to Murray, who brought glory back to the British Isles 77 years later.
“It’s tough because I want to keep playing but I can’t. Physically it’s very tough right now. I’d like to play forever, I love the sport. It was a race against time to get here and physically it wasn’t easy, but I’m glad we were able to do it together once,” said Murray, mentioning his brother.
The Scot suffered from various physical problems during his career but, above all, from heavy defeats against Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. Murray won three Grand Slams and the Olympic gold on the same London grass, and on Thursday he received a historic ovation from La Catedral, after losing to Rinky Hijikata and John Peers by 7-6(8) and 6-4.
This is not the last match for Murray, 37, at Wimbledon after his defeat in his doubles debut, as he is scheduled to play in the mixed doubles alongside Emma Raducanu, in a debut that will be against China’s Zhang Shuai and El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo.
Novak Djokovic, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Iga Swiatek, as well as Britons Dan Evans, Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie, were all on court. The Serbian sealed his ticket to the third round by dropping a set (6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5) to British wild card Jacob Fearnley, a debutant in Grand Slam tournaments with few references for the Balkan favourite.
The seven-time champion, with his right knee protected after a meniscus operation, had a complete and demanding match that now sees him face the Australian Alexei Popyrin. Zverev also advanced to the third round, beating the American Marcos Giron (6-2, 6-1, 6-4) in a fast track, to now meet Norrie. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas said goodbye in the second round against the Finn Emil Ruusuvuori, by 7-6 (6), 7-6 (10), 3-6 and 6-3.
In the women’s draw, world number one Swiatek extended her winning streak to 21 matches after beating Croatian Petra Martic 6-4, 6-3, without losing a match since mid-April. Her last defeat was against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in Stuttgart, who also advanced in London against German Laura Siegemund 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
2024-07-04 21:05:20
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