As the sun set over the stadium on a quiet Parisian night, one of the greatest sporting careers Great Britain has produced came to an understated ending as Andy Murray was defeated for the last time.
After a week of delirious, crazy comebacks that presented a perfect summation of a waning career that has been filled with them, Murray and Evans were defeated by two of the best in the world, losing 6-2, 6-4 to Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul of the United States in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.
Murray made his final farewell on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, the second biggest court here. Although it was only half-full after another long day of matches, most that had stayed were there to catch a glimpse of Murray one last time. The few scattered “USA! USA!” chants were immediately booed. Among those in the audience was the great Billie Jean King; it was hard to imagine she was rooting for her compatriots.
In a doubles draw, filled with scratch pairings, unfamiliar partnerships and singles players, Murray and Evans found themselves up against the No 1 and No 2 Americans.
As childhood best friends, Fritz and Paul have played together many times but in their 16 previous tournaments in doubles, with singles their priority, they had won three successive matches once.
With a medal on the line, though, and both of them out of the singles they have been tremendous. They were incredibly sharp from the beginning, breaking Murray’s serve in the opening game and rolling through the first set.
It was far from traditional doubles; the Americans spent most of their time on the baseline eviscerating the ball, constantly putting the net player under pressure and overwhelming their opponents with their serve and shot quality.
As the Americans seemed to be moving and striking the ball at warp speed, Murray and Evans were comparatively slow and underpowered. Throughout the second set, they tried desperately to find a way through but nothing would stick.
As soon as they retrieved one of two breaks while trailing 2-6, 1-4, Murray double-faulted down triple break point to immediately hand it back.
Murray’s final stand came around 9.20pm local time as Paul stepped up to serve for the match after a thoroughly dominant performance from the Americans. But once again the British duo refused to lie down. After saving two more match points and rallying the crowd, Murray and Evans pulled the score back to 5-4 before the Americans finally closed out the contest.
In contrast to the pageantry at Wimbledon, this was a quiet, simple ending. After the match came to an end, Murray and Evans shared a long hug before Murray was greeted warmly by Fritz and Paul at the net. Before he made departed as a professional, Murray broke into tears as he saluted all corners of the stadium to a long, heartfelt standing ovation.
Even as Murray and Evans were outclassed, this week offered a final reminder of the perseverance, doggedness and total persistence that have defined one of the greatest tennis careers of the 21st century.
Murray and Evans reeled off seven points in a row from 9-4 down in the third set tie-break of their opening round against the Japanese pair, Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel, saving five consecutive match points. Then they brought themselves back from the brink after trailing 9-7 against the Belgian doubles specialists Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, finding a way through again in nerve-shredding fashion.
Murray ends with a haul of achievements that few could dream of. He has won three grand slam titles, including two at Wimbledon, and two Olympic gold medals. He spent 41 weeks at world No 1 in the toughest possible era, also winning 46 titles.
The numbers do little to reflect the feelings his game, mentality and approach evoked. The way his commitment, professionalism and desperation to eke out every ounce of his talent drove him to success and gained him so many followers along the way.
The past few months have been far from ideal, with a serious ankle injury and back surgery significantly hampering him. As has so often been the case, despite this adversity, Murray managed to make the best out of it.
When departing the court for last time, it was not a sad one. Murray played until he had excavated every last option, until his body could no longer handle the strains of the tour and there was no other conclusion.
The frustration of his defeat may linger, but he will reflect that he left everything out on the court and closed this chapter with no regrets.
