Andy Murray was lavished with praise after admitting defeat in his bid to play singles one last time at Wimbledon – but Novak Djokovicwould not be surprised to see him back next year.
The Scot has said the Olympics in Paris later this month will be the final tournament of his illustrious career.
He had hoped to make a farewell appearance in singles but pulled out on Tuesday morning after failing to recover sufficiently from back surgery last weekend to remove a spinal cyst.
Murray will, though, be able to say goodbye to Wimbledon on the court in doubles alongside his brother Jamie.
Djokovic and Murray, born just a week apart, have been battling against each other for nearly 30 years, and such is the Scot’s never-say-die reputation that Djokovic finds it difficult to imagine him stopping.
Obviously, very sad news for the tournament and for the tennis world to hear that he withdrew from the singles event here in Wimbledon,” said the Serbian.
Hopefully he can get another shot at next year’s Wimbledon with singles. Knowing him, he’s going to try to do that.
“Just incredible resilience throughout all his career. Multiple grand slam winner. Legend of the game. Number one in the world. Going to play the Challenger circuit to build his rankings on clay, his least favourite surface, says a lot about his character.
Just a huge inspiration to all the players. Doesn’t mind getting out on the court for hours every day. Incredible professional. Just his approach is something to study, no doubt.
“His will to push and see how far he can go, even with an artificial hip, is something that is just inspiring but also serves as a great example, I think, to a lot of the athletes, younger ones, that start to complain about this and that.”
