Andy Murray has withdrawn from the men's singles event at Wimbledon.
It means the two-time champion and former world number one will be unable to take part in what was set to be a farewell singles appearance at the All England Club.
However, he will still take to the courts, but instead in the doubles, as he plans to play alongside his brother Jamie.
Murray has been struggling with a back problem and has failed to recover from minor surgery in time to feature in the singles draw.
The 37-year-old had been set to face Tomas Machac on Centre Court on Tuesday.
However, his team confirmed in a statement that Murray, who is planning to retire this year, would not play.
"Unfortunately, despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his operation just over a week ago, Andy has taken the very difficult decision not to play the singles this year," a statement read.
"As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed but has confirmed that he will be playing in the doubles with Jamie and looks forward to competing at Wimbledon for the last time."
Winning the tournament in 2013 and 2016, Murray (2012-13, 2016) is the only British player to reach the final at Wimbledon in the Open Era.
The Scot has played 74 matches at Wimbledon; it is the fifth-most matches played in the men's singles draw at this tournament during the Open Era.
His 61 wins, meanwhile, are the sixth-most of any man after Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Jimmy Connors, Becker and Pete Sampras.
Wimbledon: Alcaraz survives major scare to beat Tiafoe
Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare as the defending champion won a five-set thriller against Frances Tiafoe to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon.
Tiafoe came into Friday's third-round match on Centre Court with low expectations due to what has been a difficult 2024 so far, but he won the first and third sets, before coming within a tie-break of causing a huge upset.
Alcaraz ultimately prevailed 5-7 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in just under four hours to book a fourth-round meeting with either Brandon Nakashima or Ugo Humbert.
There were few signs of the drama that would follow when Alcaraz broke to take a first-set lead, but Tiafoe – who shocked Rafael Nadal at the US Open in 2022 – fought back with two breaks of his own to claim the opener and threaten another grand slam scalp.
A superb backhand winner clinched a comfortable second set for Alcaraz, but 29th seed Tiafoe produced an extremely impressive response, rallying the crowd when he confidently moved 2-1 in front having barely been troubled on serve in the third.
There were no break opportunities for either player in a keenly contested fourth set, but, with the pressure firmly on, Alcaraz produced a brilliant tie-break to send the contest into a decider, then taking his turn to celebrate with the fans.
The Spaniard made a crucial early breakthrough in game three and Tiafoe soon began to realise his opportunity had gone when Alcaraz consolidated his lead with a second break. He sealed the victory with a beautiful drop shot, with his relief and joy clear to see after getting over the line.
Data Debrief: Ten in a row for Carlos
Alcaraz is becoming a consistent grass-court performer and has now made the last 16 or better at Wimbledon for three consecutive tournaments, a run which includes his triumph last year.
The victory also means he has won 10 straight Wimbledon matches, with this surely being one of the toughest in that sequence.
Having also achieved that feat at the US Open, he is the third-youngest player to do so at both of those majors, with only Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander doing so at a younger age.
Despite a difficult afternoon on Centre Court, Alcaraz still racked up some impressive numbers, finishing with 16 aces and 55 winners.
Wimbledon: Hurkacz and Tsitsipas fall in round two as Zverev and Fritz surge on
Hubert Hurkacz was the highest-profile casualty on day four of the Wimbledon men's singles, with the seventh seed forced to retire injured during his clash with Arthur Fils.
The Pole beat Roger Federer on the way to reaching the semi-finals in 2021, while he was runner-up to new world number one Jannik Sinner in Halle last month.
However, when trailing by two sets to one against his French opponent, Hurkacz sustained a knee injury during the tie-break in the fourth.
Despite valiantly attempting to battle on, he aggravated the problem further soon after when diving for a return, and was subsequently unable to continue with Fils advancing to round three.
There, he will play Alex de Minaur after the ninth seed enjoyed a straight-sets victory over Jaume Munar.
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev also prevailed in three sets as he continued his rich vein of form. The Italian Open champion, who was also runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland-Garros, was a commanding 6-1 6-2 6-4 winner over Marcos Giron.
Next up for him is Cameron Norrie after the 2022 semi-finalist ousted compatriot Jack Draper in a battle of the Brits on No.1 Court.
Eastbourne champion Taylor Fritz overcame Arthur Rinderknech in four sets, as did 15th seed Holger Rune against Thiago Seyboth Wild.
Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov recovered from two sets down to beat Juncheng Shang in a decider. The 2014 semi-finalist will now play Gael Monfils, who completed a straight-sets victory over fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka.
Although, there was no joy for 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. The two-time major finalist was beaten in four sets by world number 87 Emil Ruusuvuori.
Murray receives emotional Centre Court tribute after doubles defeat
Andy Murray said he wished he could play on forever after his final Wimbledon began with a doubles defeat alongside brother Jamie on an emotional Centre Court.
Murray and brother Jamie suffered a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 defeat to Australian pair John Peers and Rinky Hijikata, two days after he announced he would not participate in the singles.
The two-time Wimbledon champion, who underwent back surgery just over a week ago, has since announced he will pair up with Emma Raducanu in the mixed doubles.
Following his doubles match on Thursday, the likes of John McEnroe and Novak Djokovic were invited onto Centre Court for an emotional ceremony to mark his achievements at the tournament, which he won in 2013 and 2016.
In an interview with BBC Sport's Sue Barker, Murray said of teaming up with his elder brother: "It was obviously really special, I never had the chance to do it before.
"The way things worked out, there was a chance this year and it was a race against time.
"Physically it wasn't easy but I'm glad we could get out here and do it just one time together."
Murray has repeatedly said he will retire at the end of 2024, with an appearance at the Paris Olympics now his target.
Speaking about his impending retirement, Murray said: "It's hard. I would love to keep playing but I physically can't, it's too tough now.
"The injuries have added up and they haven't been insignificant. I want to play forever. I love the sport, it's given me so much and taught me so many lessons."
Reflecting on his two victories at SW19, Murray said the pressure of winning his first grand slam title meant he could not fully enjoy the 2013 success, but opened up on the big celebrations that followed his second triumph.
"I didn't really enjoy it as much as I should have done, I just found it very, very stressful," Murray said. "2016 was different.
"I felt way less pressure and the enjoyment I got out of that win was amazing, I could enjoy it with the people closest to me.
"Of the slams, that was my favourite one. I don't remember much of that night, I had a few drinks and I did unfortunately vomit in the cab on the way home!"
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
