“You are a legend,” said a young kid as Andy Murray stopped to sign autographs as he left the court for the final time.
Even as his career came to an end, he showed to the world just how much he cared about the sport, even with the tears in his eyes likely obscuring what he was signing.
The sport also showed how much they cared about him – his doubles partners Dan Evans was clearly emotional at the end of the match, with Murray serving not just as a teammate but an inspiration and a friend to all in British tennis and far beyond.
The pair who beat Murray and Evans, Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz of the USA, stood to applaud, with players from across the game always making it known to the 37-year-old how much he was admired and valued.
The scoreline of Murray’s defeat, 6-2 6-4, was not perhaps emblematic of his career, but there were still signs of the greatness that has been on display for over 20 years.
With the end of his career closing in, Murray rallied alongside Evans to show it is never over for him until it is over.
Never even liked tennis anyway.
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) August 1, 2024
But it is over now – two Olympic golds, one Olympic silver, three Grand Slam titles, 41 weeks at number one, a Davis Cup win, and millions of people inspired later.
But, of course, the humble Scot did not sum up his career in the same way.
“I’m proud of my career,” he said. “I worked really hard to achieve the results I did at a really difficult time to win the major titles.
“I’m proud. I gave it a good go.
“How my body has finished shows I’ve put it through a lot. So looking forward to a rest now.
"A few months ago I wasn’t looking forward to retiring. Generally when you retire it’s a celebration but I love playing tennis so I wasn’t looking forward to that moment.
“But after I had the surgery at Queens and at that point I was struggling to walk.
“I’ve been looking forward to the end since then because physically it’s been tough because I’m not able to move around the court and do what I want to do physically and therefore can’t compete at the level that I want to.
“The last year or 18 months I was worried about what I would do after but now I’m just looking forward to the end”.
And while Murray’s career is over, Evans’ continues but he knows he will always be able to look on the past week with fondness.
The pair twice saved match points during their run to the last eight to keep hopes alive of Murray standing on an Olympic podium one final time.
The Olympic leg of the spectacular tennis career of Sir Andy Murray 🇬🇧@andy_murray 🥇🥇🥈 pic.twitter.com/FNKdS0KZfR
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 1, 2024
Evans said: “I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been everything I thought it would be and more. I love team events. The chance to play doubles at Andy’s last tournament.
“We both put in an amazing effort to get him ready, to get him on the court and to give it a really good go in the doubles.
“It’s something I’ll cherish forever to play Andy’s last match.”
Evans and Murray’s loss also saw Team GB’s involvement in tennis end at the quarter-final stage with Katie Boulter and Heather Watson having lost in the women’s doubles earlier in the day.
Birthday girl Boulter tasted defeat alongside good friend Watson losing to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani 6-3 6-1.
The pair had been a surprise package as they reached the last eight at Roland-Garros.
Watson said: “I found we’re on the same wavelength on so many things and we’ve grown a lot closer as friends as well.
“I’ve loved every second of it here and I couldn’t have experienced this with anyone better.
“All in all, we’ve have had a blast and made memories for the rest of our lives.”
Boulter added: “I really do cherish these moments, especially alongside Heather – wearing the flag is something you can’t compete with.
“I don’t take that for granted ever, so the chance I get to play and wear this flag is everything to me and the reason I play tennis.
“But it’s definitely a highlight in my career without a doubt.”
Sportsbeat 2024