Wimbledon 2024 day four: Andy and Jamie Murray lose in men’s doubles first round – as it happened

Otherwise, that is us for another day. We will, of course, be back tomorrow at 11am BST – thanks for your company, thanks to Andy Murray, and peace out.

Andy goes out the back to wave to the crowd gathered there, but otherwise, that is that. A bit of what now feels like housekeeping but is actually important stuff: Alexander Zverev (4) beat Marcos Giron 6-2 6-1 6-4 and meets Cameron Norrie next; Caroline Wozniacki and Laylah Fernandez (30) stopped their match for the night at 3-3 in the decider.

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Obviously when we feel emotional about people like Andy, we’re also feeling emotional about the passage of time and our own lives. Some of us are old, and in two decades we’ve been watching him a helluva lot has happened – in the world and to all of us.

Nice boy that he is, Andy goes down the line of those there to support him, Mac, Novak, Martina and ilk, then shares a long hug and some words with Jamie; those two have been through a bit together. Then, finally, he departs through a guard of honour, rests on a bannister, head on arm, and shares a moment with Iga Swiatek, then Jack Draper, Max, Martina again. Everyone adores this man, and in any walk of life that is rare, but an entirely different thing in the brutal, cynical, selfish world of elite sport.

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Do we get to do this all over again when Muzzacanu win the mixed?

It’s hard to finish, he says, but physically he can’t keep going – the injuries have been significant. He wants to play forever, though – he loves the sport, it’s given him so much, taught him loads of lessons that he can use in the rest of his life. “I don’t wanna stop, so it is hard,” he offers in conclusion. I love him so much and so should you.

Finally, perhaps, he says he’d better mention his wife lest he get into trouble – “This’ll be the hard part,” he says. They met when he was 18, her dad being a coach, and they went out for dinner but he choked. He walked her back to her hotel, asked her for her email address – “I don’t know if that’s a normal thing to do” – and the first time she came along to watch him, he gipped twice, once right in front of where she was sitting. Then he stood up and gipped on his opponent’s racket bag, but she still seemed to like him so he knew she was a keeper.

“She’s been an amazing, amazing support,” he says, “to me, to my family … she’s the best mum,” and he chokes then looks up at her. “And yet unfortunately a couple of months she’s going to have to see me every day so things might be rocky for a little while but hopefully we can stick it out and looking forward to the rest of our lives.”

Ahahaha, Sue totally Hazel Irvines him: dissatisfied we’ve had insufficient tears, she asks him about his family. Speaking on behalf of Jamie, he talks about the support of his parents in pursuing their dreams – his brother left home at 12 and he then went to Spain – and now he has his own kids he knows how that must’ve felt because he hates them being away even for a day. His dad looks on the verge here and how couldn’t he be, aren’t we all when we focus on what our kids mean to us?

Otherwise, he’s really looking forward to spending more time at home – his daughters were asking for piggy backs just days after his back surgery – and he thanks his support staff, saying all players know you can’t succeed without great people around you. The last few years have been hard, he says, but also for those close to him and he pauses, trying not to greet; no such nicety in my box room, but.

The injuries have been tough and significant and they’ve worked hard just to be on the court competing, not at the level any of them wanted but they tried. I don’t think I could think more of any sportsman, honestly.

In 2016 he says he felt very different and had an amazing evening with his friends and family, properly enjoying it – it’s his favourite of his three slams. He’s told he danced but says he can’t remember, sharing that he yakked in the cab on the way home. Lovely stuff, I hope the cabbie scooped it up and sold jars. Why don’t I have one.

“They were alright weren’t they?” he says of the big three, and that it was amazing to be a part of what they’ve done and some of the big matches. Asked about how it was trying to win Wimbledon, he admits it was “pretty stressful” but the crowd helped him, especially when he won it for the first time – “Novak had an off-day, obviously” – and explains that he didn’t really enjoy it, having found the whole thing “very stressful.” When he got off the court he didn’t remember the last game but he’s watched it since and can’t believe what Djokovic was doing to him on match point. Had he lost it, he’d have found it hard to recover, but he got there.

A few weeks later, though, he won Olympic gold, which he says is one of the favourite days of his career, winning at home, at Wimbledon, against Federer. Sue then talks about how hard he worked, and the way he came back after his hip injury is, in some ways his greatest achievement.

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Exhibition curmudgeon to the end, he says he’d like this over quickly as two of his kids are here and it’s past their bedtime. But he’s taken back to 2012, when he lost at Wimbledon to Federer – he said afterwards that that was when he had to accept he might not win a major. He wanted to speak then, though, because he wanted people to see how much he cared, and that was an important moment in his career.

Goodness me, Martina, Mac, Novak, all in a line applauding. How on earth must that feel? And you know what? If Andy was just brilliant at tennis, it wouldn’t be like this; it’s like this because he’s brilliant at being a human. I am honoured to have watched him, it’s a privilege to be writing these words, and at the age of 45 I can’t believe I’m feeling these feelings about an individual sportsman. Team stuff, fine, those are our identity and heritage, but some random bloke? It takes something, someone, very special to have us in a mess, and the reason for it is that Andy Murray represents values: fairness, equality, bravery, decency and the triumph of the human spirit.

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“Are you proud of how you played the game?” asks Roger Federer. “Did you fight for yourself?”

“Or did you fight for others?” wonders Serena rhetorically.

“We’ve been against you and with you,” says Roger and Novak; “We were proud to play against you,” adds Rafa.

Jamie is almost gone, Kim is gone, Andy is going, Judy is gone, I am totally gone.

Oh man, remember when he flexed his biceps after winning a five-setter against Gasquet in 2008?!

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“Obviously really special,” he says. They’d never got to do it before but Jamie’s partner was playing with Neal Skupski, so it was a rush to get it sorted but they managed. So we’re now watching VT of Andy’s great moments, of him as a kid, and all of that. What a human being he is, what a total hero.

Ahahahaha, here comes Sue Barker, out of retirement to interview Andy. Lovely, lovely stuff. She tells him they want to celebrate everything Andy’s achieved and seeing the brothers together is so special, 10 grand slam titles between them. Oh look, Novak Djokovic is there too, and I’m afraid my eyeballs might be sweating.

Hijikata says it’s special to play today and he’s glad to have won, but today is all about Andy; “it’s an absolute honour to step on the court with him,” he says, and I just love how much everyone loves him. Murray had actually disappeared but he’s back now, which is good – I daresay there’ll be a losers’ interview.

Peers, who used to play with Jamie, is equally honoured, and the winners depart to well-earned cheers.

Hijikata and Peers were just too good, but what a joy to watch Andy and Jamie together, Judy looking on with naches. Well played boys, well played.

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The Muzzim make 0-15, but Peers then finds a tremendous winner, running to the baseline and curling himself around a forehand. Hijikata then takes a net exchange, Andy unable to bend a ball around the post, and a backhand overhead raises two match points…

Andy holds, sealing the game with an ace and forcing peers to serve for it at 7-6 5-4. I don’t know how to say this, but we might be about to watch Andy Murray play his last ever game on Centre Court (though it’s a fair guess he’s on there in the mixed). Goodness.

Zverev holds to take the second set against Giron; he leads 6-2 6-1 1-0, and this has been, so far, an almost perfect performance.

Tsitsipas just can’t get it going on grass, but that is a monumental win for Ruusuvuori, the biggest of his career. He gives it a frightful whack, so perhaps this is the result that fires his career; he faces Mpetshi Perricard next and I can’t wait to see them play.

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Tsitsipas holds, forcing Ruusuvuori to serve it out, and he quickly makes 40-0!

Back on Centre it’s now 3-3 in the second but Hijikata and Peers make 0-30, the latter thrashing a forehand into Andy’s shoulder to raise three break points. The Muzzas save two, but then Jamie sends down a double and I’m afraid at at 7-6 4-3, we may be minutes away from seeing an absolute hero depart Wimbledon for almost the last time. Let’s hold ourselves, mates.

Giron has nothing for Zverev, nothing at all, and now trails in set two by two breaks at 4-1. But out on No 3 Court, Ruusuvuori has broken Tsitsipas to lead 2-1 4-2, and he’s two games away from a ridiculous shock. He only booked accommodation until yesterday, so spent last evening scouting about for a gaff … and now look! And as I type he holds for 5-2 in short order, his forehand dominating the set and exploiting Tsitsipas’ weak backhand

Great work from Laylah Fernandez, who levels her match with Wozniacki at one set apiece, taking the second 6-2. Wozniacki, though, is unhappy with the light and struggling to see, so asks if they can stop playing and return tomorrow. The supervisor, though, isn’t keen – in fairness, there’s a good chance they get this done in, say half an hour, and the crowd who’ve hung about will want to see a finish.

There’s a Yiddish word, “naches,” which roughly means enjoyment, pleasure, usually from one’s children or grandchildren. So imagine the naches Judy Murray experienced watching her boys walk out together on Centre Court, the place in raptures. That said, what I’m certain gives her most pleasure is the way they conduct themselves, but back out there, Jamie has to save break-back point … and does, a T-serve returned out. But after they fail to challenge a first delivery called out that was in, Jamie nets a volley and we’re back on serve in set two.