With the French Open looming, an arrangement that took the tennis world by surprise when it was announced last November shuddered to a halt following an announcement from Murray’s team.

“Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months,” Murray said in a statement. “I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.”

The former world No 1s began working together on a trial basis in Marbella last December, with Murray making his first appearance in Djokovic’s box at the following month’s Australian Open. There were some teething problems in the opening round at Melbourne Park, when the Serb expressed frustration towards his team during a four-set win over Nishesh Basavareddy, an American teenager making his grand slam debut. 

From there, though, Djokovic remained on track, and went on to defeat Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, embracing Murray afterwards and hailing ‘a huge win for all of us, including Andy and myself, for the relationship’. 

A hamstring injury would force the 10-time champion to retire in the next round against Alexander Zverev. But while he was unable to secure the 25th grand slam title he needed to claim outright the all-time record he currently shares with Margaret Court, the coaching relationship with Murray showed sufficient promise for the pair to resolve that they would continue through to the next major, on the red clay of Roland Garros. 

What neither could have known at that point was that their best work was already behind them. 

Murray did not accompany Djokovic to Doha the following month, when the Serb lost his opening match to Matteo Berrettini, but the Scot was present in Indian Wells to witness his former rival’s lacklustre defeat to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp. That setback, Djokovic’s third in succession, marked the 37-year-old’s worst run of results in seven years.

While that nadir was swiftly followed by an encouraging run to the final of the Miami Open, hinting at a resumption of normal service, the 37-year-old’s hopes of a 100th career title were scotched by a straight-sets defeat to Czech teenger Jakub Mensik.

With the clay courts of Europe beckoning, heralding the start of the long run-up to Roland Garros, things were always likely to get worse for Djokovic before they got better. Even as a three-time winner in Paris, it has traditionally taken him time to hit his stride on the red stuff. Yet even he was shocked by the desultory manner of his straight-sets loss to Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in Monte Carlo. “I knew I’m gonna probably play pretty bad, but this bad, I didn’t expect,” Djokovic lamented.

Something had to give, and during a practice session alongside Murray before the Madrid Open, a frustrated outburst from Djokovic revealed much about his state of mind. “Fuck sport, fuck tennis, fuck everything,” he cursed in Serbian as he wiped his face with a towel. Murray may not have understood the words, but the sentiment will have been clear. Djokovic went on to lose his opening match to Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in straight sets, and announced he would not play in Rome. It would also be his last outing with Murray in his box.

While the split itself comes as no surprise, given Djokovic’s poor run of form, the timing, less than a fortnight before Paris, remains unexpected. Having come this far together, it might have made sense to see the arrangement through, particularly given that relations between the pair appear perfectly amicable. 

Beyond that, Murray could surely have been a useful ally at Wimbledon, and not only because he would have brought the almost unique perspective of a former two-time champion who knows what it is to beat the Serb on Centre Court. Djokovic might have enjoyed the status of an honorary Brit with the Scot in his corner, an advantage not to be sniffed at for a man who has had his share of run-ins with the Wimbledon crowd. 

That said, the player-coach dynamic is everything. Djokovic has made it plain that Roland Garros is his only objective in terms of the clay-court swing and, if the chemistry was not quite right with Murray, he will have seen little reason to persist with the relationship through the most important few weeks of the season. Either way, there are clearly no hard feelings   

“Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun & support over last six months on & off the court,” Djokovic said in a statement. “Really enjoyed deepening our friendship together.”

While Djokovic has accepted a late wildcard for next week’s Geneva Open, where he will attempt to rediscover his clay-court mojo before heading to Paris, Murray will return to the golf course, whence he was whisked after answering the Serb’s call for assistance last November.

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But youth knows no fear, and in the early stages Basavareddy, a childhood admirer of Djokovic who fashioned his game accordingly, went toe-to-toe with the Serbian seventh seed. With Djokovic struggling to find his range, the teenager showed belief, composure and an impressive array of shots to take the opening set and perhaps leave Murray wondering whether he should have stayed on the golf course.

That feeling may have intensified when Djokovic, having fired down an ace to complete a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory, gestured in irritation to his box, apparently unhappy with a technical point concerning his ball toss.

But after suffering an unexpected quarter-final loss to the returning Reilly Opelka in Brisbane 10 days ago, relief will be the dominant emotion for Djokovic, who spoke warmly of Murray’s mid-match input after capitalising on Basavareddy’s physical difficulties to prevail in in two hours and 59 minutes.

“I’m obviously thrilled to have him in my corner,” said Djokovic. “It was a little bit of a strange experience to have him courtside in my box. We played for over 20 years against each other at the highest level, and it’s great to have him on the same side of the net. 

“He gave me some great advice mid-match. I think it’s really good that we have an opportunity now to have coaching allowed on the same, so we can exchange some feedback and and we can get our coaches to tell us what they see from the side of the court.

“It’s a completely different angle and perspective when you’re watching from the side, and he’s been doing really well. It’s been an enjoyable experience; hopefully we don’t stop here.”

A month into his professional career, this was a milestone experience for Basavareddy, who embraced the occasion with an alacrity that bodes well for his future. A graduate of Stanford University in his native California, he offered a cheery pre-match wave to the watching Mary Joe Fernandez, a former world No 4 whose son attends the same college, and he was quickly into his stride, competing with an intensity and intelligence that belied his inexperience.

Commanding the baseline exchanges, Basavareddy drew a string of early errors from Djokovic, kissing the lines with his forehand, deftly caressing drop shots and demonstrating assurance and athleticism in the forecourt. 

“I was probably a bit too passive from the back of the court,” said Djokovic. “He was dictating the play.” 

The question mark, for a player whose short career has already included three knee surgeries, concerned American’s physicality. After moving with fluidity and sharpness for the first 90 minutes, Basavareddy began to struggle with his movement, hobbling between points as cramp kicked in.

It was all the invitation Djokovic needed to haul himself back into the contest. Having steered an accurate return winner down the line to bring up his sixth break point of the evening, the 37-year-old outlasted Basavareddy in the next rally before emitting a prolonged roar that was part triumph, part relief. Rising to his feet, Murray raised a clenched fist. With Basavareddy grimacing and casting concerned looks towards his box, the outcome was never again in serious doubt.

Djokovic, who would eclipse Margaret Court as the most successful player in history with an 11th title in Melbourne, later offered warm praise for his vanquished opponent.

“I didn’t know much about him,” said Djokovic, who will next face Jaime Faria, a Portuguese qualifier ranked 125 in the world. “He’s a very complete player, he very pleasantly surprised me with all of his shots and with his fighting spirit towards the end, so I wish him all the very best for his career.”

While Djokovic was toiling on Laver, Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed, notched up a comfortable win over Alexander Shevchenko, prevailing 6-1, 67-5, 6-1 against the 77th-ranked the Kazakh. The 21-year-old Spaniard, who would become the youngest man to complete the career grand slam with a first title at Melbourne Park, suffered a brief lapse early in the second set, squandering a 3-1 lead before finishing the match strongly.

Jannik Sinner, the top seed and defending champion, also won in straight sets, defeating Nicolás Jarry of Chile 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 to claim his 15th straight grand slam win on hard courts, a record bettered only by Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Djokovic.

“It’s amazing to be next to these names, but I cannot compare myself with these players, said Sinner, who will play Tristan Schoolkate, an Australian wild card ranked 173, for a place in the third round. “They have done so many things, I am just trying to make my own little story.”

Jack Draper, the 15th seed, playing his first match since October following a hip injury, earlier came through 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 against Argentina’s Mariano Navone.

But Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 11th seed and former finalist, suffered a shock first-round loss, losing in four sets to Alex Michelsen of the United States.

“I was just trying to stay super composed out there,” said Michelsen after claiming the first top-20 win of his career 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. “I knew it was going to be a battle in the end. It’s all about the mindset.”

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In an extraordinary turn of events, Murray, who has spent most of his time on the golf course since retiring at the Paris Olympics in August, will team up with the Serbian world No 7 ahead of the Australian Open, where Djokovic will attempt to win an 11th title and eclipse Margaret Court as the most successful player in history.

It marks a first move into coaching by a member of the erstwhile Big Four, of whom Djokovic is the only active member following the retirement of Rafael Nadal earlier this week. Roger Federer, the other member of the quartet, bowed out just over two years ago.

The partnership between Djokovic and Murray – childhood rivals, now aged 37, and born just a week apart – will be all the more poignant for the fact that Djokovic was the architect of all but one of Murray’s five losing appearances in the Australian Open final.

“I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach,’ said Djokovic, who finished a mixed season without a grand slam title for the first time since 2017 but realised a career-long ambition by winning an Olympic gold medal.

“Looking forward to [the] start of the season and competing in Australia alongside Andy, with whom I have shared many exceptional moments on Australian soil.”

Murray will join the Djokovic camp in the off-season and remain at his old rival’s side until at least the conclusion of the year’s first major.

“I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the off season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open,” said Murray. “I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals.”

Beyond moving ahead of Court, whose all-time record of 24 major titles he equalled with victory at last year’s US Open, those goals are perhaps hard to quantify. At what point will Djokovic, already the most successful male player in history in terms of titles won, be satisfied?

It is perhaps with that question in mind that the Serb has alighted on Murray, whose own work ethic and appetite for victory, combined with his tactical nous and innate love of the game, seem naturally suited to a coaching role. If anyone can keep Djokovic motivated down the final stretch of his career, it is surely the Scot, whose injury struggles in his twilight years make him uniquely placed to articulate the value of getting every last drop out of whatever the former world No 1 has left in the tank.

Given the propensity of both men to vent their spleen towards their coaching box over the years, the dynamics of the relationship promise to be fascinating. Djokovic, however, appears to have no reservations about the potential of the partnership.

“We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits,” Djokovic said in a social media video depicting their on-court rivalry. “We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game-changers, risk takers, history makers. I thought our story may be over, turns out it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome on board, coach Andy Murray.”

Whether the pair can break the stranglehold that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have exerted over the sport in a season when they have divided the four majors between them remains to be seen. What is beyond doubt is that it will be fascinating to watch them try.

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Seconds later, his Olympic men’s doubles challenge alongside Dan Evans would be over. But the wonder was not that the British thirtysomethings were outgunned 6-2, 6-4 by their American opponents, both of whom are ranked just outside the top 10 in singles and in the prime of their careers. The real marvel, after saving five match points against Japan’s Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori in the opening round, and then another two against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Belgium in the second, was that Murray and Evans reached the quarter-finals in the first place. 

By any normal reckoning, Murray should not have been in Paris at all. It is barely a month since he underwent surgery to have a spinal cyst removed, a procedure that requires a six-week recovery period for most people. But Murray is not most people, and little about his career has been normal. Before he went under the knife, doctors told him he would miss both Wimbledon and the Olympics. Predictably, he played both, metal hip and all. Of course he did. Few athletes have taken more delight in confounding medical opinion. Yet the pain he endured to make it happen should not be underestimated.

“It’s been really hard,” said Murray. “Physically, pain wise, I feel bad. Physically, I can obviously can go on the court and perform at a level that’s competitive. We were close to getting in the medal rounds here. That’s OK. But the pain and discomfort in my body is not good, and that’s why I’m happy to be finishing. 

“Because if I kept going and kept trying, eventually you end up having an injury potentially ending your career. So I know that now is the right time, and physically.”

Endings are rarely perfect, and against Fritz and Paul it was a losing battle from the outset. In an ideal world, Murray’s body would have allowed him a last stand on the singles court, as he had planned. Even so, it would be hard to imagine a more apt scenario for his farewell campaign, certainly in this final, injury-plagued phase of his career. He has battled his body from the moment he first impacted on the public consciousness as a gangly teenager on the grass courts of Queen’s Club in 2005, when he was seized by cramp, dramatically crashing to the turf as though picked off by a lurking sniper, in a last-16 defeat to Sweden’s Thomas Johannson. 

Cramp got the better of Murray again a couple of weeks later at Wimbledon, derailing him in the closing stages of a five-set struggle with former finalist David Nalbandian. The need to build a body capable of withstanding the demands of the tour was clear, and so Murray set about transforming himself into one of the tour’s fittest, most durable athletes. His brutal Miami training blocks became part of tennis folklore. When he reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final in 2008, he famously celebrated by pulling up his sleeve to reveal a flexed bicep, a signal to his team that the hard miles were paying off. 

Murray would ultimately pay a heavy price for his punishing training regime and seemingly limitless capacity for suffering. But by the time the pain in his right hip began to sound the death knell on his best years, at Wimbledon in 2017 – where, effectively playing on one leg, he came within a set of the semi-finals – his legacy had long since been secured. No longer simply Andy, he had become “The first British man to…”, an epithet virtually interchangeable with his first name. The first British man to win an Olympic singles gold medal since 1908. The first British man to win the US Open in 76 years; the first to reach a Wimbledon final in 74 years, the first to win one in 77 years, and the linchpin of the first British team to win the Davis Cup since 1936. What more apposite way to go out than defying his body one last time, on a stage that has defined his career?

Murray’s physical transformation was just one aspect of his refusal to accept the hand fate dealt him. Stronger yet was his will, so powerful that it reshaped the reality around him. For Murray was not the greatest player of his generation; Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic saw to that. Even when rankings or form or draws suggested otherwise, it rarely seemed likely that Murray would reach grand slam finals ahead of that feted trio. But he did it time and again, making a mockery of logic and outside expectations. Murray became the fourth voice in a three-way conversation, refusing to be silenced. His talent was undeniable, but it was as much Murray’s tenacity, his sheer stubbornness, that enabled him to contest 11 major finals, win three, and become only the 10th man in the open era to reach the title round at all four.

In a sense, Murray’s career has been a web of paradoxes and impossibilities. He was never the best until he was the best. That moment came in 2016, his annus mirabilis, when Murray finished the season by winning five straight tournaments, culminating with the ATP Finals, where he dislodged Djokovic as world No 1. In the toughest era there has ever been, he retained that position for 41 weeks until his body betrayed him. Murray was the man who could, even when it seemed others should; a player who left an indelible imprint on the sport at a time when it seemed nigh-on impossible to do so. 

Consider what today’s tennis landscape would look like without Murray. Had he not beaten Djokovic in the US Open final of 2012 and then again at Wimbledon the following summer, the Serb would already be out on his own with 26 majors, clear of Margaret Court as the most successful player in history. Federer would have an Olympic gold medal in singles, the only significant honour to elude him. Nadal, whom Murray defeated for the first time in the 2008 US Open semi-finals, might have gone on to beat Federer in the final of a third consecutive major, a victory that would have seen the Spaniard complete a non-calendar year grand slam at the 2009 Australian Open.

More often, of course, Murray was bested by those players. Djokovic denied him the winner’s trophy four times at the Australian Open and once at Roland Garros. Federer thwarted him in finals at Melbourne Park, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows. But all the near misses and disappointments only made Murray’s victories more meaningful. In an age of tennis immortals, his often tearful setbacks made him relatable in a way that the near-infallibility of his rivals never could.

Murray’s authenticity, his willingness to bare his emotions, to fail and keep coming back for more, is one of the reasons why he was so widely beloved. After a stuttering start with the British public, who initially failed to warm to his dry humour – particularly his infamous quip about wanting “anyone but England” to win the 2006 World Cup – Murray’s emotional speech after losing the 2012 Wimbledon final won hearts and minds aplenty. A month later, as he avenged that defeat against Federer on Centre Court to win the first of his two Olympic gold medals, he was cheered to the rafters. His love affair with the people had begun in earnest.

Even so, it wasn’t always pretty. The flipside of Murray’s authenticity was the incessant chuntering, the swearing, the furious broadsides he so often directed at his hapless support teams. A poker player he was not. 

“I wish I’d behaved differently at times on the court,” said Murray. “But there’s lots of things, like my character on the court, that I did like.”

No less agreeable was his character away from the court. Taught to play by his mother, Judy, a former Scottish No 1, Murray had a natural respect for the women’s game and, typically, was no more afraid to articulate it than he was to appoint Amélie Mauresmo as his coach. After losing at Wimbledon in 2017, he memorably took to task a reporter who suggested that his vanquisher, Sam Querrey, was the first American player to reach a major semi-final since 2009. “Male player,” Murray shot back, mindful of the achievements of Venus and Serena Williams, the latter of whom he would partner two years later in the Wimbledon mixed doubles. 

Thoughtful and eloquent, Murray gradually was not only a champion for the WTA, but also a spokesman for his sport, and perhaps even its voice and conscience. He never shirked difficult questions. From the use of technology and the abuse of bathroom breaks to scheduling issues and the ATP’s lack of a domestic violence policy, whenever there was an issue to be discussed, Murray’s opinion was always among the first sought. He was invariably worth listening to.

No appraisal of Murray’s achievements would be complete without a respectful nod to the final phase of his career. After an emotionally-charged press conference at the 2019 Australian Open in which he said his ailing hip would no longer allow him to compete effectively, Murray looked to be done and dusted. An arthroscopic procedure the previous year hadn’t worked as well as hoped, and he was unsure he would even be able to limp on for long enough to bow out at Wimbledon. 

A fortnight after a valiant five-set defeat to Roberto Bautista Agut, which was followed by a farewell video tribute featuring contributions from Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, Murray returned to the operating table, having a metal hip installed. No player had successfully returned to top-flight singles after undergoing such a procedure.

Five months later, however, Murray resurfaced on the grass courts of Queen’s Club and won the doubles title alongside Feliciano López. By October, he had claimed the 46th title of his career at the European Open in Antwerp. And while that was the last trophy Murray would lift, he continued to break new ground. 

At last year’s Australian Open, he saved a match point to edge a near-five hour first-round thriller against Matteo Berrettini, then returned less than 48 hours later to win the longest match of his career, recovering from two sets to love and a break down to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in five hours and 45 minutes. That match, which finished at 4.05am, was the second longest in Australian Open history. It was typical of Murray’s warrior-like mentality – he never did go in for the routine – and yet, in the circumstances, those feats of endurance felt almost superhuman. 

Last August, Murray achieved a ranking of 36th in the world, the highest he would climb with his resurfaced hip. In a sense, it was a milestone almost as great as any in his career. But in recent months, his body has failed him with growing frequency. In March, he ruptured ankle ligaments in Miami; no sooner had he returned, just in time to compete in one last French Open, than his back began to deteriorate. There were only so many more times he could achieve the impossible. It was time to go. 

“I’m happy with how it finished,” said Murray. “I’m glad I got to go out here at the Olympics and finish on my terms, because at times in the last few years that wasn’t a certainty.”

In truth, there were never any certainties. Scotland didn’t produce tennis stars; not world-beating ones like Murray at any rate. But from humble beginnings at his local club in Dunblane, where he started playing aged three and honed his competitive instincts, as younger siblings so often do, against his brother Jamie, a future doubles world No 1, Murray rose to conquer the world. That, perhaps, was the biggest impossibility of all.

“If I went back to the beginning of my career, when I started in Scotland, no one standing here, myself included and my family, none of them, would have expected that I would have gone on to do what I did,” said Murray. “Even when I was 18, 19 years old, there were still a lot of people who doubted my ability, talent, work ethic and mentality.”

No one doubts him now.

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Murry, who all but declared his intentions when he spoke to reporters at the British team base on the outskirts of north-west Paris on Wednesday, formally announced his decision in a statement on Thursday morning, shortly before the draw was made.

“I’ve taken the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan,” said Murray. “Our practice has been great and we’re playing well together. Really looking forward to getting started and representing GB one more time.”

The Olympics will be the second major singles competition Murray has missed in less than a month. After undergoing surgery to have a spinal cyst removed on 22 June, the 37-year-old, a double Olympic gold medallist in singles, was also forced to abandon plans for a final singles appearance at Wimbledon, instead limiting his involvement to the men’s doubles, in which he made an emotional farewell to the tournament alongside his older brother, Jamie. 

Now history is set to repeat itself, with Murray fearful that competing in two events would be too great a workload so soon after his operation.

“Obviously, Dan and I have made the commitment to each other that this was what we were going to prioritise,” Murray said on Wednesday. “I think Dan is still going to play singles.

“Since we’ve been here, we’ve been practising and playing doubles sets together. That gives the team and us the best opportunity to win a medal, realistically. 

“My back is still not perfect, and the potential of playing two matches in the day is maybe not the best.”

Injury setbacks have been all too frequent over the final months of Murray’s career. He ruptured ankle ligaments in Miami in late March, and although he returned to competition less than eight weeks later, in time to contest the final weeks of the clay-court season, he required treatment on his back following the French Open. While it is not the first time the 37-year-old has suffered back problems after competing on the surface, the subsequent transition to grass revealed deeper issues. 

After defeating Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in his opener at Queen’s Club, Murray was forced to abandon his last-16 meeting with Jordan Thompson while trailing 4-1 in the first set. That would prove to be the final singles match of his career. 

Murray, however, has been eager to accentuate the positives, particularly after he was originally told by doctors that he would not be able to play at either Wimbledon or the Olympics. 

“After what happened in Miami with my ankle, and then what’s happened with my back, it is extremely frustrating,” said Murray. “But I also was told when I had the scan on my back after Queen’s that I wouldn’t play at Wimbledon and I wouldn’t play at the Olympics either. I got the opportunity to play at Wimbledon and physically, judging by how we’ve been doing in our practices, [I’m] more than capable of competing and doing very well in the doubles. In some ways, you could say it was lucky.”

Murray won the first of his gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics, defeating Roger Federer just four weeks losing the Wimbledon final to the Swiss. That victory proved the catalyst for the first of Murray’s three grand slam titles, which came at the following month’s US Open. By the time the Scot successfully defended his Olympic title in Rio de Janeiro four years later, he was also a two-time Wimbledon champion.

“Every time I have come to the Olympics it feels totally different,” said Murray. “I personally love it. For me, it has been an amazing experience. I love being around athletes, being part of the team, representing my country. For me, it has been right up there.”

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His beautifully choreographed Centre Court sendoff on Thursday night was neither a final nor a victory, yet somehow it felt like both. At the time, it wasn’t even a farewell, given that Murray was entered in the mixed doubles with Emma Raducanu – although that has changed now that Raducanu has withdrawn from their scheduled first-round match.

It remains to be seen whether Raducanu, who said she woke up with stiffness in her right wrist following her third-round win over Maria Sakkari, will suffer a backlash over her decision. After undergoing surgery on both wrists last summer, and with the chance to reach a first Wimbledon quarter-final on the line when she faces Kiwi qualifier Lulu Sun on Sunday, her caution will be understandable to many. Then again, her partner has a metal hip, suffered ruptured ankle ligaments only a few months ago, and had surgery on his spine on the eve of Wimbledon. Were the roles reversed, it is hard to imagine anything would have prevented Murray from taking to the court.

The mood in the Murray camp seems clear. When broadcaster Marcus Buckland described Raducanu’s withdrawal as “astonishing” in a social media post, Murray’s mother, Judy, replied: “Yes, astonishing.” Ultimately, though, perhaps it is more fitting that Murray’s Wimbledon career ended alongside his older brother, Jamie, on a midweek night that felt more like the second Sunday.

All the hallmarks of a final were in evidence. The rapturous, prolonged standing ovation. The address to the crowd. The televised walk back to the locker room, applauded by the great and the good of the All England Club, before a pause to wave to the assembled throng outside Centre Court from the walkway leading to the millennium building. Murray, twice a champion on the grass of Wimbledon, has done it all before, of course. But never quite like this. The beauty of the occasion lay partly in treating him as though he had just won a third title. 

In reality, of course, it was just an opening-round doubles match, one the Murrays lost in straight sets to the Australian pairing of Rinky Hijikata and John Peers. But that was immaterial. It was a night for reliving past glories with family, friends and fans, not for dwelling on the realities of the present. 

To that end, Sue Barker, another national treasure, resurfaced from retirement to conduct one last Centre Court interview with Murray, just as she had done after each of his three finals. The look of astonishment on the brothers’ faces when she appeared was priceless. So too was the initial tremor of emotion in Barker’s voice. As always, she captured the mood perfectly. 

The video montage that followed, which interspersed footage of Murray’s greatest moments with contributions from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams, left nary a dry eye in the house. Up in the stands, Judy and Kim, Murray’s wife, struggled to contain their emotions. Down on the court, Jamie fared little better. The one person who held it together, for the most part at least, was Murray. He had earlier left the court to compose himself for what was to come, and although he wiped away a tear as the crowd gave him an ovation that felt like it would never end, this was not a repeat of his speech after losing the 2012 final to Federer – even if he did use similar words, reflecting that “it wasn’t easy” to come back and win the following year.

“I did find it pretty stressful to be honest with you,” said Murray. “But I obviously had an amazing team of people around me, supporting me through all of that. 

“The crowd support obviously made a huge difference. Playing at home is a huge advantage in all sports, and I used it that day. Novak [Djokovic] had an off-day, obviously. I just managed to get over the line. I didn’t really actually enjoy it as much as I should’ve done. I just found the whole thing very, very stressful.”

He will have found his conversation with Barker barely less so. The obvious parallels with Federer’s tearful farewell interview with Jim Courier at the 2022 Laver Cup were accentuated by the on-court presence of a stellar array of former Wimbledon champions –Djokovic, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Conchita Martínez and also Lleyton Hewitt, after whom one of Murray’s dogs is named. This being Wimbledon, there was also a British contingent comprising of Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Tim Henman (although, curiously, not Jamie Delgado, Murray’s former coach, or Laura Robson, alongside whom he won a mixed doubles silver medal at the London Olympics, both of whom looked on from the wings). 

Fittingly, given Murray’s steadfast support for the women’s game throughout his career, Iga Swiatek, the world No 1, was also in the line-up, as was Holger Rune, the Danish world No 15, with whom he played doubles in Brisbane this year.

The moments that threatened to tip Murray over the edge – talk of his family, and of the injury-plagued conclusion to his journey in the sport – were also redolent of Federer’s farewell. Yet Murray’s dry wit and raw honesty ensured the occasion remained uniquely his own. It is hard to imagine Federer recounting quite so many tales about vomiting. The final-that-wasn’t will linger in the memory beside Murray’s other Centre Court highlights, another remarkable chapter in his Wimbledon story. Short of winning the title, nothing he might have achieved alongside Raducanu would have come close.

“When the video was playing, my head was spinning a lot, because I know I’m about to have to speak,” said Murray. “It’s difficult in those moments, because there’s a lot of people you want to thank and address, but it’s also not easy, it’s pretty emotional. 

“Watching the video was nice, but hard as well for me, because you know it’s coming to the end of something that you’ve absolutely loved doing for such a long time. So that’s difficult. 

“It was really nice that a lot of the players stayed. I obviously have very close and good relationships with the British guys that were there, but there were also a number of players there on that court that I’ve got enormous respect for, some of the greatest players in the history of the game, so it was really nice that they stuck behind, because we did finish quite late.”

It was the least he deserved. There has been so much noise around Murray on his final visit to the All England Club as a player, so many questions and doubts and what-ifs following his recent back surgery. Play or don’t play; singles, doubles, mixed; injured, fit, somewhere in between. In the end, none of it mattered. Murray’s legacy in these parts was secure from the moment a Djokovic backhand nosedived into the net 11 summers ago, signalling the end of Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon champion. 

What followed will forever live on in the national consciousness, a series of freeze-frame mental images drenched in passion and joy and catharsis. Murray’s racket seemingly suspended in mid-air as he turned to the crowd to celebrate. Kim holding her head in wide-eyed disbelief. Judy crying on the shoulder of Leon Smith, the British Davis Cup captain, then almost finding herself overlooked when Murray failed to spot her after clambering into the players’ box. 

Eleven years on, Murray’s daughters Sophia and Edie, the two eldest of his four children, have a moment of their own to remember. This was their final, the moment when Wimbledon belonged to their father in a way it has rarely, if ever, belonged to anyone. Defeat notwithstanding, it was a perfect ending.

“I’m ready to finish playing,” said Murray. “I don’t want that to be the case, I would love to play forever. But like today, even though it was a doubles match where physically it’s not as demanding, it was still really hard for me. 

“This year’s been tough, with the ankle, the back surgery, obviously the hip. I’m ready to finish playing because I can’t play to the level that I would want to any more. That’s something that I guess is a bit out of my control. If I knew that my body was going to be able to do it, I would play.

“But I know that it’s time now, and I’m ready for that.”

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The 37-year-old, twice a champion at the All England Club, withdrew from his opening match against Tomas Machac on Tuesday evening after his hopes of recovering from back surgery in time for an emotional farewell campaign were dashed.

Murray’s Wimbledon swansong will now come alongside his older brother, Jamie, in the men’s doubles, which begins on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old, who plans to retire after the Paris Olympics later this month, went under the knife 10 days ago to have a spinal cyst removed. The operation followed his withdrawal at Queen’s Club, where pain in his back and a loss of strength and co-ordination in his right leg forced Murray to abandon his last-16 match against Jordan Thompson. 

Murray was determined to give himself as long as possible to recover, and on Monday night he pushed back his original self-imposed deadline for a decision about his participation to Tuesday morning. In the end, though, the timeframe was simply too tight to bounce back from a procedure that normally requires a six-week recuperation period.

“Unfortunately, despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his operation just over a week ago, Andy has taken the very difficult decision not to play the singles this year,” Murray’s management team said in a statement.

“As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed but has confirmed that he will be playing in the doubles with Jamie and looks forward to competing at Wimbledon for the last time.”

For a player whose defining moments have come on Centre Court, it will come as a devastating blow that his body has once again let him down at the worst possible time. Yet it is precisely because he has enjoyed such highs that Murray would not have wished to simply go through the motions against Machac, by whom he was beaten in a final-set tiebreak just over three months ago in Miami after rupturing ankle ligaments. The goal was always to be fit and competitive, but footage of the Scot’s practice sessions suggested he was struggling to move freely, the numbness in his right leg yet to dissipate.

Murray won his first major title at the All England Club in the 2012 Olympics, avenging a loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final a month earlier, and the following summer he ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s singles champion in SW19 with a straight-sets victory over Novak Djokovic. Murray won his second Wimbledon title in 2016, but the following year his title defence was derailed by a hip injury that twice required surgery. He has played with a metal hip since undergoing the second of those procedures in January 2019.

Murray’s place in the draw will now be taken by David Goffin of Belgium, who was beaten in the final round of qualifying but gets in as a lucky loser. The 33-year-old will face Machac on Court 17, with Britain’s Jack Draper, the 28th seed, now playing his opener against Sweden’s Elias Ymer on Centre Court, in what will feel like a symbolic passing of the torch.

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That might seem an odd thing to say, given that it is barely three weeks since the 37-year-old Serbian underwent knee surgery. Yet it is hard to conclude otherwise after Djokovic avoided both Jannik Sinner, the world No 1, and Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, in Friday’s draw.

Despite his nail-biting defeat to Alcaraz in last year’s final, it is hard to dispute Djokovic’s status as the world’s best grass-court player. He has won seven Wimbledon titles. He has made the past five finals. Last summer’s loss was his first on Centre Court in a decade. And while history has shown that he needs little help once he enters the gates of the All England Club, help is precisely what he has received in the form of a draw that should afford him an opportunity to play his way into the tournament. 

Djokovic will open his campaign on Tuesday against Vit Kopriva, a 27-year-old Czech qualifier ranked 123 in the world. Should he negotiate that hurdle, he would then face either Spain’s Alejandro Moro Canas, a qualifier ranked 189th who is making his grand slam debut, or Jacob Fearnley, a British wild card riding a career-high ranking of 271. 

No player at this level can be underestimated, but it is a far cry from the challenges potentially awaiting Sinner. If the 22-year-old Italian wins his opener against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann, he could face fellow countryman Matteo Berrettini, a player whose grass-court pedigree speaks for itself, in the second round. A finalist in SW19 three summers ago and winner of four grass-court titles, Berrettini has spent much of this season working his way back from injury, but has quickly found form with grass underfoot, reaching a third Stuttgart Open final earlier this month. 

If Berrettini’s thunderclap serve, heavy forehand and skidding sliced backhand could pose early problems for Sinner, the same goes for Ben Shelton, the American world No 14, whom he will meet in round three if the seedings hold. Shelton has endured an underwhelming build-up to Wimbledon, losing three of his four warm-up matches, but his power and athleticism demand serious attention. The 21-year-old, who opens against fellow lefty Mattia Bellucci, an Italian qualifier, is surely a grass-court specialist in waiting.

While Sinner could face a battle to reach the second week, it is hard to imagine Djokovic being forced too far from his comfort zone before the last 16, where he is slated to face Holger Rune, the Danish 15th seed. Despite some indifferent form this year, most recently an early exit at Queen’s to Jordan Thompson, Rune has shown he can play on grass. He was a quarter-finalist last year, and has won two of his five meetings with Djokovic. Even so, it would be a surprise not to see the Serb in the quarter-finals, where he is expected to meet Hubert Hurkacz, the big-serving Pole who reached the semi-finals three years ago.

What of Alcaraz in all this? Winner of two of the past four majors, following his maiden French Open victoryearlier this month, the 21-year-old Spaniard opens against Mark Lajal, an Estonian qualifier ranked 262 in the world, and looks well placed to emerge from a quarter in which Tommy Paul, the 12th seed, may emerge as the chief early threat to his title defence. Paul, who meets Spain’s Pedro Martínez in the opening round, defeated Alcaraz in Toronto last summer and won at Queen’s Club last week – where Alcaraz, the defending champion, was beaten by Britain’s Jack Draper. That defeat meant Alcaraz slipped down a place to third in the rankings, scotching the prospect of a first grand slam final between the two brightest young stars in the game.

While all eyes will be on the top half of the draw, and the possibility of a 10th instalment in the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry – the Spaniard, who claimed a five-set victory in the French Open semi-finals earlier this month, leads the series by five wins to four – the seedings suggest Djokovic will meet Alexander Zverev for a place in the final. Whether that contest will materialise is another matter. While the fourth-seeded German arrives fresh from reaching the second major final of his career at Roland Garros, he has never won a grass-court title and has yet to advance beyond the fourth round at the All England Club.

Should Zverev’s traditional vulnerability at Wimbledon open the door for a surprise semi-finalist to emerge from the third quarter, Draper, seeded 28th and up against Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer in the opening round, may like his chances. Likewise Andrey Rublev, the sixth seed, who was a quarter-finalist two years ago. But Taylor Fritz, who also reached the last eight in 2022, losing an epic five-setter to Rafael Nadal, will be eager to make amends for the frustrations of last summer, when he ran out of steam against Mikael Ymer in round two after surviving a rain-delayed, three-day opener against Hanfmann. Fritz, seeded 13th, starts against Australia’s Christopher O’Connell. 

Two-time champion Andy Murray, who will be playing at Wimbledon for the final time, has said he will wait until the last minute before deciding on whether to take to the court for his opening match. Drawn against Tomas Machac, the big-hitting Czech against whom he ruptured ankle ligaments three months ago in Miami, Murray is striving to recover fitness after undergoing surgery on his back last weekend. 

Murray’s predicament is one with which Djokovic will no doubt sympathise. A repeat of last year’s final against Alcaraz, or a renewal of acquaintances with Sinner, who dethroned him at the Australian Open in January, may come too soon for the Serb after his own recent injury travails, but he has given himself an opportunity to compete, and for now that is all he will care about.

“It’s been an intense three weeks after surgery, spending a lot of hours rehabbing,” said Djokovic. “I kind of always wanted to give myself a chance to be in London. I think my surgeon is here. He’s the MVP for sure the last three weeks. I’m trying to take it day by day and see how far it goes.”

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The 37-year-old’s retirement plans were thrown into disarray last week when a spinal injury forced him to pull out of his second-round match at Queen’s Club after just five games. Murray, who has won both Wimbledon and the Olympics twice, had hoped to bow out of the sport at one of those career-defining events, but is now racing to be fit after having an operation to remove a spinal cyst on Saturday. 

The Scot, who has already returned to training, will wait as long as possible before making a call about his participation in the singles at the All England Club, where he led Stefanos Tsitsipas overnight in a two-day, five-set thriller last year. He is aware that he may take some flak over his decision to remain in the draw, but feels he has earned the opportunity to take a final shot at an event where he ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a British men’s singles champion in 2013.

“The rate that I’m improving just now, if that was to continue, then an extra 72 to 96 hours makes a huge difference,” said Murray. “It’s complicated, and it’s made more complicated because I want to play at Wimbledon one more time. 

“I want to have that opportunity to play the tournament and I know that some people might look at that and say withdrawing from a tournament late, at the last minute or something like that, isn’t the right thing to do, even though it happens every single week on the tour.

“Maybe it’s my ego getting in the way, but I feel that I deserve the opportunity to give it until the very last moment to make that decision. 

“The operation has gone really, really well and I’m recovering really well. I hit some balls yesterday. I’m not in much pain at all, but the nature of nerve injuries is that they’re quite slow to recover.

“I don’t know exactly how long it’s going to take for the nerve to get to a stage where I’m able to compete or play, whether that’s three days or whether it’s three weeks or five weeks. It’s impossible to say.”

With that in mind, Murray has not ruled out playing his final match elsewhere if necessary. He has booked a family holiday for the week after the Olympics, which run from 27 July to 4 August, and insists he will not travel to New York for the US Open. Nonetheless, Murray does not want his hobbling retirement at Queen’s to mark his final moment in the sport. 

“I know that there’s more important things in the world than where I play my last tennis match,” said Murray. “But because of what I put into the sport over the last however many years, I would at least like to go out playing a proper match where I’m at least competitive, not what happened at Queen’s.  

“I can’t say for sure that if I wasn’t able to play at Wimbledon, and I didn’t recover in time to play at the Olympics, that I wouldn’t consider trying to play another tournament somewhere. But if I’m able to play at Wimbledon and if I’m able to play at the Olympics, that’s most likely going to be it.”

For the moment, Murray’s focus is on Wimbledon, where an emotional swansong in the men’s doubles appears a more realistic prospect than a singles farewell. If he fails to make the starting line, it will not be for want of effort.

“I’m doing rehab 24/7 to try to give myself that opportunity to play there again,” said Murray, who could partner his brother for the first time at the tournament. 

“I would say it’s probably more likely that I’m not able to play singles right now. I spoke to my brother a couple of days ago in terms of the doubles to see if he wants to find someone else to play with, and I was obviously absolutely fine with that. But he also wants the opportunity to try to play. 

“We’ll see how the next few days go. I certainly couldn’t be preparing for Wimbledon in a worse way. But maybe this is just how it was meant to happen for me.”

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Overcome by tension during a semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic 12 months ago, when he was derailed by cramp, Alcaraz arrived in Paris this term as the bookmakers’ favourite, but with lingering concerns over the forearm injury that has dogged him for the past two months. On the eve of the tournament, he said he was no longer in pain, but remained “a little bit scared about hitting every forehand 100%”.

As Alcaraz opened his title challenge with an emphatic victory over JJ Wolf on Court Philippe Chatrier, however, he showed few signs of fear. As for pain, the only evidence of that was on Wolf’s side of the net, where the 25-year-old American, a lucky loser ranked 107 in the world, gave a creditable account of himself only to emerge on the wrong end of a 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 hiding. Goodness knows what Alcaraz will do to his opponents once he really gets into his stride.

“I’m still feeling weird, let’s say, or afraid to hit every forehand at 100%,” said the Spaniard, who once again sported a compression sleeve on his lower right arm. 

“It’s still in my mind, but I didn’t feel anything after the match, which is really good for me, so I can say it’s a full recovery.”

The 21-year-old’s only previous outings on European clay this spring came at the Madrid Open, where his title defence came to grief at the hands of Andrey Rublev. Alcaraz admitted in the aftermath of that quarter-final defeat that he had been thinking about his injury after every forehand, but there were few signs of him holding back against Wolf. The American’s afternoon began auspiciously when he spanked a pair of brutal returns to break in the opening game, but went rapidly downhill thereafter.

While Alcaraz’s forehand is the bedrock of his game, his variety is such that there will always be a fallback. Here, his weapon of choice was the backhand, which he repeatedly hammered low and true down the line, boldly stepping into the court to conjure changes of direction and velocity that invariably left Wolf standing. Yet there were plenty of other signature moves to enjoy, from delicate drop shots to 133mph first serves – and 21 winners off the forehand side. 

“Everybody told me that I must go to 100% on every forehand, but I don’t feel as comfortable as before, just to play every forehand and forget my forearm,” said Alcaraz. “I’m trying to hit as many forehands as I can 100%, but there are a few of them that I want to stay easy, let’s say.”

That caution is at odds with the Spaniard’s somewhat laissez-faire approach to the details of his injury. He has cheerfully admitted that he did not pay too much heed to the outcome of medical tests, preferring instead to focus on what to do, rather than what was wrong, once he had been assured the problem was not serious. He has applied the same blithely unscientific approach to wearing a protective sleeve on his arm.

“My physio told me that it helps in a certain way,” said Alcaraz. “I don’t know which way, but he told me it helps. 

“He told me that it is not necessary to wear the sleeve, but I wear it just in case, because everybody’s told me that it helps my mind in a certain way, just to try to forget everything in my forearm. That’s why I’m wearing this.”

Alcaraz will next face Jesper de Jong, a Dutch qualifier ranked 176 in the world, who defeated Britain’s Jack Draper 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 6-3. Draper, ranked 35th, showed impressive resilience to claw his way back from two sets to love down, but struggled on serve and lacked conviction down the stretch.  

British hopes were dealt a further blow in the night session, where Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 champion, cruised past Andy Murray in straight sets. The 39-year-old Swiss prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, sharing a few words with his opponent at the net afterwards before applauding Murray, who may have played his last singles match at the French Open, as he waved a lingering farewell to Court Philippe Chatrier.

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