![Andy Murray]()
Andy Murray could very well go down as the most underrated tennis player of all-time. Nothing about his loss on Thursday in the 2024 Summer Olympics men's doubles competition will change any of that. Tommy Paul and
Taylor Fritz took care of business against Murray and Dan Evans 6-2, 6-4, putting an end to Murray's career in the quarterfinal round.
To still be competing on the Olympic stage in Paris at age 37 given all the injuries he's endured over the years is a testament to Murray's competitiveness and resilience. We're talking about a guy who reached world No. 1 status in an era shared with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. You know, the best hard court player ever, the best grass court player ever, and the aptly-nicknamed King of Clay.
Murray even rattled off two Wimbledon titles in 2013 and 2016 to back up his Grand Slam breakthrough at the 2012 U.S. Open. He was a finalist at Roland Garros in 2016 and a five-time finalist at the Australian Open. Imagine if the timing of his career was ever so slightly different. I guess you could say that about Murray's other three GOATed contemporaries, but still.
Anyway, Murray bowed out of tennis with class and humor on social media and it seemed funny enough to post about.
https://twitter.com/andy_murray/status/1819115193148100944
https://twitter.com/AwaaraHoon/status/1819116692213309513
A lot of tributes came pouring in from the tennis world, including from Spanish prodigy Carlos Alcaraz, who's on a collision course with Djokovic for the singles gold medal match this year. Murray actually won the gold at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Games, beating Federer and Juan Martin Del Potro in London and Rio respectively.
https://twitter.com/TeamGB/status/1819096314887512134
https://twitter.com/rolandgarros/status/1819095470712782971
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1819095369168343422
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1819096317487915361
https://twitter.com/carlosalcaraz/status/1819113594245496934
https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/status/1819108152220037169
Can't say enough about Murray and the epic heights he reached. There might even be an undercurrent of sincerity about "not liking tennis", because most of us with far less mental fortitude would likely struggle to continue pressing on with Djokovic, Federer and Nadal as contemporaries. It's wildly impressive that he was successful as he was under those circumstances.
One accomplishment Murray has above all of them: No man has ever successfully defended the Olympic gold medal in singles. That triumph in 2012 in front of London's friendly crowd set the stage for his first Grand Slam title at that year's U.S. Open, where he had to knock off Djokovic in the final.
Congrats to Andy Murray for everything. BEAST.
