Australian doubles pair John Peers and Rinky Hijikata will go down in tennis annals after defeating a tearful Andy Murray on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
However, the duo will by no means be seen as spoilsports after they knocked out Murray and his older brother Jamie 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in the first round of the men’s doubles and then paid a loving tribute to the 37-year-old legend in the emotional celebrations that followed.
“It’s very special for us to come out here and play today. It’s nice to move on, but I think everyone here just wants to come and support Andy,” Hijikata told the cheering crowd after Thursday’s triumph.
“It was all about Andy and what a great champion he is. It was an absolute honour to step on the court with him before he finishes playing.”
Peers, a former doubles partner of Jamie Murray, agreed.
“It is an absolute honor to be here with Andy. Our words cannot do justice to his quality,” he said.
Tennis greats such as John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Murray’s great rival Novak Djokovic and Australia’s youngest men’s tennis champion, Lleyton Hewitt, were present courtside to pay homage to him.
Sue Barker, Wimbledon’s long-time master of ceremonies, has also returned from retirement.
Although Murray is set to face former US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the mixed doubles match, the All England Club took the opportunity to celebrate the Scot’s groundbreaking 19 years there, during which he became the King of Wimbledon.
And as he winced and seemed awkward in his movements, clearly still uncomfortable after having a cyst removed from his spine last weekend – the operation that forced him to cancel his planned singles swan song – I felt as if this really should be his last match at Wimbledon.
If so, then it was an almost perfect farewell – except for the result.
Hijikata had told AAP beforehand how much he and Peers wanted to spoil the party, and they kept their word by fending off a set point in the first set and then securing the tiebreak.
But after an early break in the second set, Murray’s boys – who were jointly unbeaten in the Davis Cup – lacked the unity of their rivals.
There was hardly a dry eye when Murray Barker said after the game: “The last few years have been tough for me.
“It’s hard because I’d like to keep playing, but I can’t. Physically it’s too hard now, all the injuries have added up and they were not insignificant.”
“I want to play forever, I love the sport and it has given me so much.
“I’ve learned a lot over the years that I can use for the rest of my life. I don’t want to stop, that’s why it’s hard.”