Andy Murray has revealed he initially wasn't looking forward to retirement. However, his stance has now changed in the wake of his defeat at the Olympics on Thursday.
The former world No 1 and Dan Evans lost to American duo Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz in the doubles last night, with the pair seeing their hopes of winning gold ruthlessly ended with a straight sets defeat.
Murray has now played his last match as a professional tennis player, with tributes starting to pour in.
Speaking after his defeat, the 37-year-old admitted that he'd initially been reluctant to walk away from tennis.
Andy Murray's time as a tennis player is over following his defeat at the Olympics
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But Murray's stance has now changed, with the three-time Grand Slam winner at peace with his decision to hang up his racket.
“A few months ago I was not looking forward to it," he told Eurosport.
"Like in most jobs when people retire generally it’s more of a celebration because they’re looking forward to it.
“I’ve obviously loved playing tennis so I wasn’t necessarily really looking forward to that moment.
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"But after I had the operation on my back at Queen’s, I was struggling to walk. It was kind of an emergency operation that I had to have.
“I’ve been looking forward to the end [since then] because physically it’s been tough and I’m not able to move around the court and do the things I want to do physically.
“Therefore I can’t compete to the level that I want to.
"So yeah I’m happy to be finishing now. I was worried about it in the last year or 18 months, what I’d do with myself, but I’m looking forward to the end.”
Murray had been hoping to win a third Olympic gold medal.
He won his first back in 2012, beating Roger Federer just weeks after losing to the Swiss icon in the final of Wimbledon.
And Murray got his second at the Rio Olympics in 2016, with the tennis star beating Juan Martin del Potro.
Murray competed in arguably the hardest era of tennis due to having to compete against the likes of Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
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Andy Murray is now looking forward to retirement following his defeat at the Olympics
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But he's proud of everything he's achieved in the sport, with the veteran adding: "I'm proud of my career, my achievements and what I put into the sport.
"Obviously it was emotional because it's the last time I will play a competitive match.
"But I am genuinely happy just now. I'm happy with how it finished."
It is currently unclear what Murray will do next.
Andy Murray and Dan Evans were beaten in the Olympics on Thursday
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He's previously confessed he's not the biggest fan of punditry, with coaching a more realistic prospect.
Murray will, for now, bask in the glory of his career. With three Grand Slams and two gold medals, he's arguably the finest sportsperson Britain has ever seen.
