Andy Murray was given a two-minute standing ovation as he returned to Centre Court at Wimbledon before losing alongside his brother.
This year will be the tennis legend’s last showing at Wimbledon and he has already made history with his doubles match with brother Jamie being moved to Centre Court.
It is the first time a first-round men’s doubles match has been put on Centre Court since 1995 and while it ended in elimination, the result was almost a sidebar with more people interested in seeing the two-time Wimbledon winner in action.
An adoring Wimbledon crowd welcomed the Murray brothers, standing for two minutes and applauding as Andy went through his warm-up, though it was not enough as the Brits crashed out 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
“Goosebumps!” BBC pundit John McEnroe said. “It’s been a rough ride for Andy Murray for quite a few years.
“It’s been harsh in a lot of ways but he has handled it with class and he is going to handle this exit with class as well.
“Andy will manoeuvre his way around the court so that he doesn’t do himself too much damage.”
The Murray brothers faced off against Australian pair Rinky Hijikata and John Peers, a formidable duo in tennis doubles.
A gruelling first set went the distance that eventually went the way of Hijikata and Peers 7-6 (8-6) and there were flashes of Murray feeling the pain that has dogged him for so long now.
And the fairytale was over by the next set with the Aussies sweeping home 6-4 to take the match 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 and eliminate the Murrays from Wimbledon doubles.
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While Murray has already pulled out of the men’s singles tournament, he will make an appearance alongside Emma Raducanu in the mixed doubles later in the week.
The 21-year-old admitted it was a request she could not refuse.
Murray won Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016 but has spent several years battling injuries and his time on court is set to come to an end.
He underwent surgery to remove a spinal cyst ten days ago, but has run out of time to be fit enough to compete in the singles.
Before the tournament, the 37-year-old said he had been fighting hard in rehab to prove his fitness ahead of Wimbledon this summer
Last week, he said: “I have just been trying to do everything I can to try and get ready to start the tournament here. I don’t know if that’s going to be enough.
“Like I said a few days ago, I want to give it every single chance that I can to get there.”
