After being crowned Wimbledon champion and winning Olympic gold in 2016—both for the second time—Andy Murray was awarded knighthood. He received the honor at Buckingham Palace in 2019, while recovering from his hip-resurfacing surgery.
But don't call him 'Sir.'
"I've always felt a bit uncomfortable with that title," the 2012 US Open champion said on a podcast last year. "It's strange, to be honest. I was grateful for the recognition and everything but I also felt a bit uncomfortable with it because of my age. I always thought calling people 'Sir' was reserved for teachers or your elders and I felt very young to have that title."
The Great Scot has always been an everyman, remaining endearingly modest as he carved out an iconic tennis career. Murray hit heights few British athletes have reached, but his feet have always been firmly on the ground.
After playing his final professional match Thursday, fittingly representing Great Britain at the Olympics, the 37-year-old signed off with a Tweet: "Never even liked tennis anyway."
It's a thought every tennis player has had, from the world's best to the weekend warriors, from fed-up seniors to jaded juniors. Most any serious player has surely "quit" the game only to appear back on the court days later. (Though this time, Murray is sadly gone for good.)
Murray's Tweet—viewed 35 million times in 24 hours—struck a chord with many, including WTA No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who co-signed the sentiment by replying with the Spider-Man pointing meme after winning an Olympic medal of her own.
The line is classic Murray, full of dry humor, and the timing is quintessential. With the sporting world coming together to honor his legendary career, emotional tributes pouring out from all corners of the globe, here was Murray to lighten the mood with a bit of self-deprecation.
Murray's accomplishments speak for themselves, his accolades made even more impressive by the fact that they came during the Big 3 (or is it Big 4) era. He faced either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in his first 10 (of 11 total) Grand Slam finals and notched 11 total wins against each man. Murray also beat Rafael Nadal seven times, with his maiden victory against the Spaniard seeing him through to his first major final at the 2008 US Open.
On the game's grandest stages, Murray was constantly matched up against his three biggest rivals, each the owner of 20-plus majors and their own personal set of tennis superpowers.
There's Federer's unmatched grace, elegance and precision; Nadal's bludgeoning baseline game and physicality; and Djokovic's Gumby-like flexibility, rock-solid all-around game and Zen-like composure under pressure.
And then there's Murray, whose success was underpinned by a workmanlike game, his effort each point on full display with often-labored grunting. Even as a master tactician and counterpuncher, it could seem Murray was a mere mortal squaring off against tennis gods.
An Instagram Live conversation with Djokovic during the COVID lockdown provided a humorous glimpse into this duality. Discussing the first things they do after waking up, the Serbian gave an enlightened answer that included gratitude, prayer and taking long, deep breaths.
Murray's mornings look a bit different: "Too much information, but I go for a pee first thing!" he said with a laugh.
The Briton never took himself too seriously off the court, but in between the lines there was no hiding how much he cared. Murray wore his heart on his sleeve and let his emotions show with screams of celebration and rage in equal measure.
The arc of Murray's career provided unending storylines. He persevered both on the court and off, fighting through heartbreaking defeats and backbreaking injuries. He has been a champion of social causes and a champion 46 times on the ATP Tour—most recently in 2019, when he won Antwerp with a metal hip.
For all that can be said and written about the British legend, Murray managed to sum it all up in three words. Immediately after his final match, Murray added two letters to make his Twitter bio past-tense...
"I played tennis."
