Andy Murray was welcomed by an eruption of cheers throughout his eagerly awaited return to Wimbledon on Thursday evening where he and his brother Jamie lost their first round doubles match.
The British duo fell 7-6(5), 6-4, to John Peers and Rinky Hijikata. An accomplished doubles pairing from Australia who have each won a Grand Slam title in the discipline during their careers.
Amid speculation that 2024 could be the last year Murray plays at his home Grand Slam, organisers put the match on their premier court. Something that hadn’t happened to a first round doubles match for 29 years.
“Yeah it was obviously really special. We never got the chance to do it before. There was a chance this year,” Murray said of playing with his brother.
“Jamie’s usual partner was playing with Neal Skupski so he asked me. “Obviously it was a bit of a race against time to try and get out here and physically it wasn’t easy today but I’m glad we were able to get out here and do this one time together.”
Three games into the match concerns started after Murray was seen holding his back and walking gingerly after attempting to return a shot. Coming into this year’s tournament, he has undergone surgery to treat a cyst on his spinal cord which also affected his right leg. It was this procedure that ruled him out of the singles draw earlier this week.
Fortunately for Murray and those watching him play on Center Court, the scare was only brief as he continued fighting. The opening set was a 48-minute nail-biter with little to distinguish between both pairs. The Murray’s had a set point when leading 6-5 in the tiebreak but failed to convert. Opening the door for their rivals who clinched the set with back-to-back forehand winners.
The rollercoaster continued into the second frame with the home team breaking for a 2-0 lead before getting pegged back. Then to make it worse, a second break in the Australian’s favour placed them within touching distance of victory. Despite the hopes of the crowd, there was no Murray triumph as Hijikata sealed the match for his team by hitting a backhand volley.
“I think everyone wants to come and support Andy wherever he is at the moment. I don’t know where he’s gone. Today was all about Andy,” Hijikata said afterwards.
Despite the loss, the night was all about two-time champion Murray with an array of stars coming to court for a special presentation conducted by veteran broadcaster and former French Open champion Sue Barker. John McEnroe, Conchita Martinez, Tim Henman, Novak Djokovic and Matina Navratilova were among those in attendance.
A touching video tribute to the tennis star was then played which featured scenes of his career with words from Roger Federer, Djokovic, Serena Williams and others.
“We’ve been against you and with you,” said Federer and Djokovic; “We were proud to play against you,” Nadal added.
Murray’s loss doesn’t bring an end to his Wimbledon hurrah. He will soon take part in the mixed doubles event with Emma Raducanu in what will be the first time he has played in the tournament since partnering up with Serena Williams in 2019.
“I would like to keep playing but physically I can’t,” Murray admits about his upcoming retirement.
“I don’t want to stop, it’s hard.”
