Rinky Hijikata and John Peers won 7-6(8-6),6-4 in the first round when a doubles match was moved to center court for the first time in 29 years. And it wasn’t the winners who gave a quick interview of maybe two minutes but here Andy Murray, 37, had the stage to himself – dutifully interviewed by Sue Barker who won the French Open in 1976.
When the match was over, Murray got to see highlights from his career on a big screen where there were three Grand Slam titles, two in Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, and personal greetings from, among others, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
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– Of course it was a bit of a race against time but I’m glad we could do this one last time together, says Murray with the whole family in the stands and his brother Jamie sitting on a chair by the track.
“People saw how much I cared”
Djokovic, a week younger than Murray, had also slipped onto the court when Murray came by and hugged him, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova and Iga Swiatek who were among the many to pay tribute to the shot. He has, however, mixed with Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon, this farewell year from tennis. He sat out singles play after recent back surgery.
– I’m not saying I’m the most outgoing or bubbly personality, but I think people probably saw how much I cared about the sport for the first time maybe, says Murray, thinking of the loss to Roger Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon final.