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It’s time to say goodbye to a champion of great intelligence and integrity. A player who persevered, to make steady progress to the very top, and who used his global standing to empower and pursue good causes, notably gender equality and women’s sport.

The truth is that Andy Murray has been forced to retire. His mind is as sharp as ever, but the body is broken. His love of the sport; of competing, is perennial. Yet today, in Paris, one of Great Britain’s greatest sportsmen closed the curtains on a historic career.

The record books indicate that the Scot captured three Grand Slam titles: 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon, and the 2012 US Open; two Olympic singles gold medals; the 2015 Davis Cup; 46 tour-level trophies overall; spent 41 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and recorded 29 victories against the Big Three. Murray was knighted, too, in 2019, becoming only the second tennis player after Sir Norman Brookes to receive the honour.

Yet the joy of following Murray, watching his performances, was so much more. Here was a very human champion, who, across three resilient chapters, squared off against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, during a golden 20-year era for professional tennis.

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It was an overcast Sunday in Aptos, California, roughly 110 kilometres south of San Francisco. Despite the low-level, gloomy clouds that particular July afternoon in 2005, it was a bright moment in Andy Murray’s young career.

The then 18-year-old, ranked No. 205 in the PIF ATP Rankings, made the best possible use of a wild card at the ATP Challenger Tour hard-court event in Aptos. Just weeks after making his major debut at Wimbledon, a tournament he would eventually win twice, Murray captured his first Challenger title, a key launching point in his illustrious career.

“I started to make my breakthrough after Aptos,” Murray recently told the ATP Challenger Tour media team. “It was really the start of my run breaking into the Top 100. It was a really big step for me because up until that point, I’d played quite a few Challengers but never got past the quarter-finals before.”

Murray’s first experience on the ATP Challenger Tour came on the grass courts of Manchester in 2003. A shy 16-year-old, but nonetheless, his game spoke volumes. The all-court coverage, brickwall consistency and fierce competitive spirit stood out as World No. 1339 Murray reached the last eight.

“I had my dad there [in Manchester] as my tennis coach. He is not a tennis player or a coach, but he was there with me,” Murray recalled last year. “I didn’t ask anyone to warm up with me before my match, so I had my dad throwing balls to me out of a shopping bag and I ended up actually getting a couple of good wins there.”

Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul ousted Great Britain's Daniel Evans and Andy Murray on Thursday at the Paris Olympics, bringing the 37-year-old Murray's career to a close. 

Third seeds Fritz and Paul raced to a 6-2, 6-4 win, booking their place in the Paris semi-finals. They will next meet Australians Matthew Ebden and John Peers.

“This has just been such a great week on the doubles court with Tommy," Fritz said. "Obviously today, I wasn’t expecting getting a little emotional when Andy is leaving the court. It’s crazy. He’s someone I’ve looked up to my whole life, so it’s sad and also kind of crazy to be the ones to play him in his last match.”

Evans and Murray scored two dramatic wins this week, saving five consecutive match points in the first round to defeat Japan's Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori. They produced more magic in the second round, fending off two match points against Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.

“I’m sad to be finishing but the last couple of weeks since we arrived here have been brilliant," Murray said. "I’ve had a lot of fun being around the team. The Olympics is such a special event to be around all the athletes and being part of such a big team cheering each other on.

“I wish we could have done a little bit further, but maybe we were a little fortunate to be in the quarter-finals. We could have lost the first two matches, but we fought so hard in all of them. Wish we could have played a little bit better today, but that wouldn’t have guaranteed that we would have won because Tommy and Taylor played really, really well.”

Serbian Novak Djokovic downed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6(3) on Thursday to reach the Paris Olympics semi-finals, but the 37-year-old has concerns whether he will be fit to continue his quest for an elusive gold medal.

The top seed trailed 2-5 in a dramatic second set, during which Djokovic saved three set points and twice called the physio for his right knee, the same knee which he injured in June on the same court, Court Philippe-Chatrier. Djokovic withdrew from Roland Garros after a five-set fourth-round win against Francisco Cerundolo and underwent right knee surgery.

The 98-time tour-level titlist fears he may have damaged the same knee in the Olympic quarter-finals.

“I dug deep and found a way,” Djokovic said. “Really glad that I managed to win the match. I had a scare early in the second set with the knee, kind of a deja vu from what happened a few months ago at Roland Garros, where I injured myself in a match, managed to finish the match victorious, but only to find out the next day that I tore my meniscus.

“So I’m hoping that’s not the case this time. I don’t know. I’m honestly concerned, but I’m going to let the medical team evaluate the knee, do examination. Tomorrow night I think I’m playing a night match at seven, so I have some time to recover and get ready. Hopefully I’ll be able to be physically fit for the semis.”

The 2024 ATP Tour Doubles Trial’s first week of mic’ing up players for live action is already producing unforgettable moments.

On Wednesday evening, singles stars Sebastian Korda and Alex Michelsen wore microphones during their first-round victory against Julian Cash and Robert Galloway at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, and they certainly made it fun for the fans watching — and listening — to the match.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous for a doubles match,” Korda joked when they walked on court.

“I’m a little tight, I won’t lie. I’m a little tight,” Michelsen said.

A few seconds later when the players stepped to the net for the coin toss, Michelsen told his opponents, Julian Cash and Robert Galloway, “I’ve got the mic on, so don’t say anything you shouldn’t say!”

Winning in sport is tough, but when you get on a role it can become a habit. In years gone by, winning became exactly that for Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter, Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal during North American swings.>

In 1995, Agassi arrived in Montreal seeking success at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and the Cincinnati Open. Two weeks and 10 wins later and his mission had been accomplished, with the American becoming the first man to win the Canadian-Cincinnati Masters 1000 double since the start of the Masters series in 1990.

Since 1990, cracking the winning code consecutively at both hard-court events has proven tough to crack, but not impossible. Patrick Rafter (1998), Andy Roddick (2003) and Rafael Nadal (2013) are the other stars to have won both hard-court events in the same season, with all three going on to win the US Open in the same year.

Ahead of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, which begins in Montreal on Monday, ATPTour.com looks back at the four champions who have tasted double success in North America.

Andre Agassi – 1995
Agassi arrived in Montreal in 1995 as the World No. 1, having captured hard-court titles earlier that year at the Australian Open and in San Jose, Miami and Washington. The American was the defending champion at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and looked comfortable throughout his first four rounds at the ATP Masters 1000 event. He did not drop a set en route to the final in Canada, where he defeated long-term rival Pete Sampras 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the championship match to capture his third title at the Canadian Masters and sixth at ATP Masters 1000 level overall.

Sebastian Korda and Alex Michelsen made a hot start to their team debut Wednesday at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. The American wild cards defeated Julian Cash and Robert Galloway 6-4, 6-2 in just 47 minutes to reach the quarter-finals.

Korda and Michelsen won 57 per cent of their second-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, compared to Cash and Galloway's 41 per cent.

Up next for the duo is second seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson. Korda partnered Thompson to win this year's ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid.

Michelsen won his singles opener earlier in the day against Mattia Bellucci. The 19-year-old and fourth seed Korda are both in the Round of 16.

Atlanta champions Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow extended their winning streak to five matches by defeating Alexander Erler and Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 2-6, 10-7. The fourth-seeded Americans next meet fifth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Santiago Gonzalez, who downed Evan King and Vasil Kirkov 6-3, 6-4.

Top seed Andrey Rublev raised his level after a two-and-a-half hour rain delay Wednesday at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, rallying past #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Round of 16.

”I was playing much better after I came back from the rain. Before the rain, I could not put more than two balls [in]. I was missing all over the place,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “I was even laughing inside of myself because it was something unreal. I never remember myself missing that much. Literally I could not put two balls inside the court. I was a bit shocked.

"Somehow, because of this pause because of the rain, I was able to calm down, to think a bit. ‘Okay, let’s try maybe different thinking.’ And in the end, it worked."

The World No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings committed 18 unforced errors in the opening set and trailed 4-6, 3-2 when play was interrupted due to rain. Rublev quickly rebounded following the suspension, breaking Van Assche in his second service game after the resumption and rocketing four aces in a row to send the match into a decider.

A two-time Washington semi-finalist, Rublev dug out of a 0/40 hole at 4-3 in the final set, tallying five consecutive points. He closed the match after one hour, 42 minutes.

Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram ended the Paris Olympics run of Spanish stars Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal with a 6-2, 6-4 victory Wednesday.

Seeded fourth, Krajicek and Ram controlled rallies with high-percentage shots while Alcaraz and Nadal made uncharacteristic errors in the early stages. The Americans remained the more consistent team as the match wore on, breaking Alcaraz’s serve to love at 3-3 in the second set.

Krajicek served out the match at 5-4, beginning that game with a nervy double fault. With a packed crowd vocally supporting the fans’ favourites Alcaraz and Nadal, the American duo kept its cool, fending off three break points to avoid any late drama.

Krajicek aced Alcaraz on match point, painting the sideline with a hefty ad-side slice, which the chair umpire confirmed grazed the line. Alcaraz and Nadal shared a hug before all four players embraced each other at net. Krajicek and Ram will continue their quest for a medal with a semi-final meeting Czechs Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek.

Nadal was later asked in the mixed zone if Wednesday was his final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the court on which he has won 14 Roland Garros trophies.

Carlos Alcaraz’s second consecutive Wimbledon title and Matteo Berrettini’s double title delight defined July’s action.

In a repeat of last year’s final, Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in a hotly anticipated match, with the Spaniard winning in straight sets to successfully defend his Wimbledon crown. Meanwhile Berrettini, who has been beleaguered by injuries and struggled for form over the past 12 months, found his game on the clay by taking back-to-back titles in Gstaad and Kitzbühel.

It was also a notable month for debutant title winners, with both Marcos Giron and Nuno Borges picking up maiden ATP Tour titles in style.

Wimbledon, London – Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz mounted a successful defence of his Wimbledon crown, defeating Djokovic in a rematch of last year’s final. The Spaniard followed up his Roland Garros victory with a second Wimbledon title in as many years, overcoming Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) in two hours 27 minutes. Djokovic threatened a late resurgence by saving three championship points at 5-4, 40/0 and breaking Alcaraz’s serve that game, but the 21-year-old held his nerve in the tie-break to taste victory once more at the All England Club. Alcaraz became just the sixth man in the Open Era to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year, joining an exclusive list comprising Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic.

Hamburg Open, Hamburg – Arthur Fils
Twenty-year-old Frenchman Fils broke new ground by claiming a maiden ATP 500 title in Hamburg, overcoming home favourite Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(1) in a closely fought encounter. The #NextGenATP star cracked the Top 20 for the first time too, reaching a career-high of No. 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Jannik Sinner has arrived in Montreal where he will compete in the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, running from 6 August – 12 August. The Italian will seek to mount a successful title defence of his victory in Canada last year, where he defeated Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1 to claim his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title.

At No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the Italian has posted a standout 22-1 record on hard courts this season, with the record blighted by just a sole loss to Carlos Alcaraz in a three-set match in the semi-finals in Indian Wells. Sinner is vying for a third career Masters title and a second this year following his title win in Miami. Sinner withdrew from the Paris Olympics after being diagnosed with tonsilitis, but has now recovered.

“Good to start hitting again and looking forward to building from here,” Sinner wrote on social media on Tuesday.

Good to start hitting again and looking forward to building from here ?? pic.twitter.com/Awmgn6HiqD

The extra time off has allowed Sinner to travel to Canada earlier than anticipated and begin preparations to bolster his chances of a successful title defence. The 22-year-old will hit on Wednesday afternoon, with the draw set to occur on Saturday, 3 August. Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev are all set to feature alongside Sinner in Canada.

Carlos Alcaraz produced another dominant display at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday when he dispatched Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-2 to set a quarter-final clash with American Tommy Paul.

The second seed, wearing the Spanish colours of red and yellow, produced a trademark electrifying performance on Court Suzanne Lenglen to draw gasps from the packed crowd.

Backed by vocal Spanish support, Alcaraz hit 21 winners, several deft drop shots and looked comfortable on the Parisian clay to advance after 90 minutes. The 21-year-old has fond memories in Paris, having won his maiden Roland Garros title in June.

The Spaniard will next play Paul after the American defeated Frenchman Corentin Moutet 7-6(6), 6-3. Alcaraz leads Paul 3-2 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having defeated the 27-year-old en route to the Wimbledon title earlier this month.

Before Alcaraz takes on Paul he will team with countryman Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the doubles event on Wednesday evening. Alcaraz and Nadal won their opening match in straight sets before they clawed past Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof in a Match Tie-break.

The National Bank Open Presented by Rogers has awarded four wild cards to Canadian players seeking to make an impact in Montreal. Denis Shapovalov, Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil and Gabriel Diallo will join fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, who gained direct entry through his ranking of No. 19 in the PIF ATP Rankings, in the main draw. The hard-court event will be held from 6-12 August.

Denis Shapovalov
Current PIF ATP Ranking: No. 139
Career High: No. 10 (2020)
Best Result at Canadian Open: SF (2017, l. to Alexander Zverev)

Shapovalov will hope a return to Montreal, the setting for his semi-final run in 2017, will help him in his rise back up the PIF ATP Rankings. The 25-year-old, who beat Rafael Nadal en route to the last four seven years ago, missed the second half of last season through injury but has made steady progress this year. The Canadian earned a hard-court win against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami and recently reached the third round at Wimbledon. The former Top 10 star is still alive this week in Washington, where he is in the third round. 

Milos Raonic
Current PIF ATP Ranking: No. 177
Career High: No. 3 (2016)
Best Result at Canadian Open: Final (2013, l. to Rafael Nadal)

The 33-year-old is a former finalist in Montreal, falling to Rafael Nadal in 2013. The Canadian, who has reached quarter-finals in Rotterdam and ‘s-Hertogenbosch this season, broke the record for the most aces in a three-set match, according to Infosys ATP Stats, earlier this year at The Queen's Club. Raonic hit 47 aces in a tight three-set victory over Cameron Norrie and will hope his serve is firing at full capacity on home soil in Canada.

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The National Bank Open Presented by Rogers is one of nine ATP Masters 1000 events that will host tennis’ elite in the 2024 season. Among those in action are World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Canadian tournament:

When is the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?
The ATP Masters 1000 event will be held from 6-12 August. The hard-court tournament, established in 1881, alternates annually between Toronto and Montreal. It will take place in Montreal in 2024. The tournament director is Valerie Tétreault.

Who is playing at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?
Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev, Medvedev, Alex de Minaur, Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud are set to compete in Montreal.

When is the draw for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?
The Montreal draw will be made on Saturday, 3 August at 4:30 p.m. (EDT).

Novak Djokovic continued his pursuit of a first Olympic gold medal on Wednesday at the Paris Olympics, where he moved past Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

The Serbian defeated rival Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the second round and backed up his 31st win against the Spaniard with a dialled-in performance against Koepfer, advancing after one hour and 37 minutes.

The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who has won a record 24 major titles and 40 ATP Masters 1000 crowns, is making his fifth Olympics appearance. Djokovic’s best result came in Beijing in 2008 when he won a bronze medal. The Serbian, who is eager to add an Olympic gold to his trophy cabinet, revealed he is loving his time in Paris.

"It is a great honour to represent my country at the Olympics. It is an incredible sporting event," Djokovic said. "We play Roland Garros every year in this stadium but the crowd, the atmosphere, the colours, everything is different. In a good way. The Roland Garros crowd is very knowledgeable and passionate about tennis but the Olympic crowd is something different.

"People from all over the world come to support their athletes and I think there are so many different nations and nationalities and it is beautiful to see. We are all celebrating sport and I am glad to still stay in the tournament."

Hometown hero Frances Tiafoe made a second-set turnaround to avoid an upset Tuesday at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where he defeated Daniel Elahi Galan 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-3.

Tiafoe, No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings, earned a key break at 3-3 in the second set, when Galan missed an easy forehand putaway in the net to end a back-and-forth 12-ball rally. It was a crushing blow for the Colombian, who despite the loss struck 22 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

A two-time quarter-finalist at the ATP 500, Tiafoe delivered another gut punch by breaking the World No. 124 to close the second set. With the Washington, D.C. crowd vocally supporting him, Tiafoe took free cuts at the ball, raising his level to close the second-round match after two hours, 22 minutes. The evening clash on Stadium court was interrupted for 40 minutes due to rain in the eighth game of the first set.

"I was happy I stayed with it," the 26-year-old said. "Early in the second, I was a little sloppy. I was pretty pissed I lost that first set. I kept holding it out, found a little spark there from midway in the second set to the end where I thought I played really well. The biggest thing was that I served great, a bunch of aces, a lot of free points. That helped me a lot."

The fifth seed won 82 per cent (45/55) of his first-serve points and hammered 14 aces in humid conditions to advance. Up next for Tiafoe will be 11th seed Roberto Carballes Baena or Aleksandar Kovacevic, who was one of five Americans to advance Tuesday. Kovacevic defeated Atlanta champion Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson have won a hat-trick of trophies on North American soil this year.

The Australians made a convincing start to another title quest Tuesday at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where they raced past Diego Hidalgo and John-Patrick Smith 6-2, 6-3 in just 60 minutes.

Seeded second, Purcell and Thompson triumphed in Dallas, Los Cabos and Houston this season. They reached the Wimbledon final, falling to Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, the top seeds in Washington.  

Thompson also won the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid alongside Sebastian Korda, whom the Aussies could meet next. Korda and Alex Michelsen face seventh seeds Julian Cash and Robert Galloway.

In other Tuesday doubles action, Karen Khachanov and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard advanced in straight sets, downing third seeds Jamie Murray and Michael Venus 6-4, 6-4. Eighth seeds Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo defeated Nicolas Barrientos and Ariel Behar 7-6(7), 6-3;

Daniel Evans and Andy Murray earned another dramatic Paris Olympics victory Tuesday to extend the Scot’s career an additional day.

Two days after saving five consecutive match points in the opening round, Great Britain's Evans and Murray fended off two match points to defeat Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-3, 6-7(8), 11-9.

?? THEY'VE DONE IT AGAIN ?

The British duo @andy_murray and Dan Evans get a 6-3 6-7 11-9 victory over Gille/Vliegen to advance to the #Paris2024 quarter-finals! #Olympics | #tennis pic.twitter.com/s5TQMjeYYQ

The fans' favourites tallied four consecutive points from 7/9 in the Match Tie-break, leaping for joy after closing the two-hour, five-minute thriller, during which Evans and Murray had two match points in the second-set tie-break.

They will next look to continue their dream run in a quarter-final match against third-seeded Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul or Dutchmen Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer.