Queen's Club honour Murray by renaming Centre Court

By Sports Desk August 02, 2024

Queen's Club announced they will be renaming Centre Court after Andy Murray following his retirement from tennis.

Murray's glittering career came to an end on Thursday in the Olympics men’s double quarter-finals as he and Dan Evans were beaten in straight sets by American pair Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz.

He announced before the Games that it would be the final tournament of his career, and he pulled off two superb comeback wins, saving multiple match points in both, to make it to the last eight.

Murray bows out as a two-time Olympic gold medallist with three grand slams. He won 739 games across his 1001 ATP Tour level matches, winning 46 singles titles.

Five of those came at Queen's Club, and shortly after his retirement was confirmed, the newly named Andy Murray Arena was announced.

"Andy is the greatest tennis player ever to come from this country and a giant of British sport," LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said in a statement.

"His contribution to the game is immense and has bought us all so many moments of pride. He was relentless in his pursuit of excellence and had a single-minded determination to succeed.

"We are proud to name the arena at our tournament at the Queen's Club after him."

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has led the tributes to Murray, having played him 36 times over the course of their careers.

"Andy, we were all hoping that this message will never come, but here it is," Djokovic said in a message uploaded to the ATP Tour's X account.

"I just want to say congratulations for an amazing career, multiple grand slams, number one in the world, two Olympic gold medals, a Davis Cup. You've done it all. Amazing, really.

"Congratulations to you, to your family. We go back a long time. I think we were 11 when we met the first time on the court, and we had some incredible encounters, and rivalries.

"We played finals of every single grand slam. You brought the Wimbledon title to Britain after 77 years, unfortunately, against me in the final, but it was quite a special historic moment that I cherish and was grateful to be part of.

"You can be proud of your incredible resilience and fighting spirit, the inspiration that you give to all of us after all the hardships you went through - the surgery, the restrictions in your movement.

"You still kept going, you showed everyone there is no letting go and no giving up. Kudos to you and all the best to you and your family. You deserve the best possible farewell."

Related items

  • Sinner avoids O'Connell upset at US Open Sinner avoids O'Connell upset at US Open

    Jannik Sinner beat Australia's Christopher O'Connell in straight sets to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday, avoiding a similar fate to Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

    The men's draw at Flushing Meadows has been blown wide open by early exits for Alcaraz and Djokovic, but the top seed remains in the hunt after a composed performance.

    He reached the fourth round for a fourth consecutive year with a routine 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory, setting the tone with several huge groundstrokes in the opening set.

    O'Connell never looked likely to fight back as Sinner smashed 46 winners in a ruthless performance, wrapping up his win in one hour and 56 minutes.

    The Australian Open champion will face either Tommy Paul or Gabriel Diallo for a place in the last eight, and he was relieved to survive an opening week full of surprises.

    "Everything can happen in this sport, so I try to stay on my side of the net and I'm trying to take the tournament day by day," Sinner said in his on-court interview after the win. 

    "Each opponent is a very tough challenge and [I am] also enjoying every moment on the court. There have been already a couple of upsets, so let's see what's coming.

    "But I'm very happy to still be here and hopefully I can play as many matches as possible. But as I said, we go day by day and then we'll see how it goes."

    Data Debrief: Sinner heating up

    Sinner lost his first set of the tournament to Mackenzie McDonald but has been largely untouchable since then.

    He has only lost 18 games across his last nine sets of tennis, an average of two per set.

    The Italian's winning streak now stands at seven straight matches, meanwhile, following his triumphant Cincinnati Open run.

  • US Open: Sabalenka overcomes first set scare to progress in late start US Open: Sabalenka overcomes first set scare to progress in late start

    Aryna Sabalenka came from a set down to keep her US Open dream alive as she beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in the early hours at Flushing Meadows. 

    Sabalenka emerged on court at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at seven minutes past midnight following Novak Djokovic's shock exit from the tournament, and consecutive upsets looked to be on the cards. 

    However, the Belarusian responded from a disappointing opening set as she looks to avenge her defeat in the showpiece match against Coco Gauff a year ago.

    The world number two set up a meeting with Belgium's Elise Mertens as she emerged a 2-6 6-1 6-2 victor in one hour and 40 minutes in New York. 

    "I don't know what I did, I was just trying to stay low, put as many balls as I can back on that side," Sabalenka said. 

    "She played incredible tennis in the first set. It was really tough to change it."

    "I'm really happy I was able to turn around this match and get this really difficult win. Thanks so much for staying that late."

    Data Debrief: Sabalenka survives late, late show

    Sabalenka's encounter with Alexandrova was the latest starting match at the US Open, beating Gabriela Sabatini and Beverley Bowes' meeting in 1987 that started at midnight.

    The Belarusian, however, will be hoping for a much improved performance in the next round, having produced 27 unforced errors throughout the contest and serving four double faults.

  • US Open: Djokovic played 'worst tennis ever' in Popyrin loss US Open: Djokovic played 'worst tennis ever' in Popyrin loss

    Defending US Open champion Novak Djokovic suffered a shock exit at Flushing Meadows as he lost in four sets to Alexei Popyrin. 

    Djokovic arrived at the tournament with confidence following his gold medal triumph at the Paris Olympics, and was tipped to lift a record-extending 25th grand slam title.

    However, the Serbian's hopes of a fifth success in New York were dashed as he followed fellow favourite Carlos Alcaraz out of the competition in the third round. 

    Popyrin emerged victorious in three hours and 18 minutes, prevailing 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 to confirm Djokovic's earliest exit from the tournament in 18 years.

    "I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played," Djokovic said.

    "Honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success."

    "I tried my best, I didn't have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas, and you could see that. From the first match, I just didn't find myself on this court.

    "Life moves on. I'll try to recalibrate and look forward to what's next."

    Data Debrief: Another one bites the dust

    Djokovic was far from his clinical best, serving a career-high 14 double faults in a grand slam match and committing 49 unforced errors.

    The Serbian will also end the year without winning a grand slam title, the first time he has done so since 2017.

    But the day belonged to Popyrin, saving 12 of the 16 break points he faced against the world number two, finding particular success with his forehand as 31 of his 49 winners came from that shot.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.