Sir Keir Starmer leads tributes to ‘true British nice’ Andy Murray
Sir Keir Starmer has led the tributes to ‘true British great’ Andy Murrary as his sensational career came to a close at the Paris Olympics tonight.
Twenty-one years after his first professional match, Sir Andy’s hopes of a medal-winning swansong evaporated in a 6-2 6-4 loss to American third seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
The Prime Minister was one of the first to pay tribute to Sir Andy after tonight’s match, thanking the tennis player for ‘two decades of phenomenal entertainment’.
‘1 Davis Cup, 2 Olympic golds and 3 Grand Slams,’ Sir Keir wrote. ‘But more than that, thanks @andy-murray for two decades of phenomenal entertainment and sportsmanship. A true British great.’
Also paying to tribute to Sir Andy was fellow tennis star Carlos Alcarez, who is the Wimbledon men’s singles champion two years in a row.
The sportsman wrote: ‘It was a privilege to share the court with you, Andy!
‘Congratulations on a legendary career and for being an example to all. You will always have a fan here!’
The last match of Andy Murray’s glittering tennis career ended in defeat in Paris on Thursday
An emotional Murray pictured waving as he left court following the final match of his career
Many paid tribute to Andy Murray as his glittering career came to and end today
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said: ‘Sir Andy Murray is Scotland’s greatest ever sportsman, and his achievements during one of the toughest eras in tennis history will mark him down as a true sporting legend.
‘The whole of Scotland is so proud of Sir Andy and while we are disappointed that we will no longer get to see him compete with his trademark fighting spirit, we thank him for the incredible memories he gave us over so many years and wish him the very best for his well-earned retirement.’
Broadcaster Greg James called Sir Andy ‘our greatest ever sportsperson’ in a moving tribute posted on social media.
Sir Andy and his doubles partner Dan Evans’ delight at two dramatic victories at Roland Garros, saving seven match points along the way, had been one of the stories of the Games, but a third act proved well beyond them despite more late resistance.
After Evans’ final return dropped just long, he and Sir Andy embraced before the Scot took centre stage to chants of ‘Andy, Andy’, waving to all sides of Court Suzanne Lenglen and then leaving the court for the final time.
Sir Andy, who was born in Glasgow and grew up in Dunblane, Stirling, won gold at the London Olympics in 2012, before winning his first of three grand slams at the US Open the following month.
Murray won three Grand Slam singles titles during his career, including Wimbledon twice
Murray and Team GB partner Dan Evans lost in the quarter-finals of the Olympic men’s doubles
Taylor Fritz (right) and Tommy Paul (left) will now take on an Australian duo in the semi-finals
But there were also moments of disappointment as Murray appeared frustrated at times
He became the first British Wimbledon men’s singles champion in 77 years when he won at the All England Club in 2013, before going on to win the tournament a second time in 2016.
He then became the only man to win two Olympic gold medals in the singles when he topped the podium in Rio in 2016.
His career was derailed by a chronic hip injury, and over the last few years he has struggled to achieve the levels that saw him become world number one in 2016.
At the start of 2024 he indicated that he planned to finish at so
