Murray given tribute in final Wimbledon

MANILA, Philippines —  Andy Murray was given an emotional tribute after his final Wimbledon tournament started with a men’s doubles defeat as long-time rival Novak Djokovic came through a testing workout on Thursday.

British two-time Wimbledon champion Murray, playing alongside brother Jamie, went down, 7-6 (8/6) 6-4, to John Peers and Rinky Hijikata to the bitter disappointment of a partisan Centre Court crowd.

Murray, the Wimbledon champion in 2013 and 2016, was entered in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles at the All England Club after running out of time to be fit for the singles following recent back surgery.

After the defeat, the packed crowd watched a video of Murray’s career highlights, with warm tributes paid by a galaxy of stars including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and former mixed doubles partner Serena Williams.

Djokovic was at courtside to witness his career-long rival’s emotional evening in the spotlight alongside past greats including John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova.

“Look, it is hard because I would love to keep playing but I can’t,” a tearful Murray said during an on-court interview.

Earlier, seven-time champion Djokovic came through a testing battle against British wild card Jacob Fearnley, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

Jessica Pegula, seeded five, became the highest-ranked player to exit the tournament so far, going down, 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 6-1, to China’s Wang Xinyu, who celebrated her first win against a top-10 player.

World number one Iga Swiatek progressed smoothly at the expense of Croatia’s Petra Martic, 6-4, 6-3, for her 21st straight win.