Sue Barker made a shock return to Wimbledon as part of a special tribute to Andy Murray after the British icon’s doubles loss alongside brother Jamie.
It wasn’t to be a fairytale result for the Murray brothers in their first and last appearance together in a Grand Slam.
Rinky Hijikita and John Peers upset the script as they knocked the Murray brothers out of the doubles.
But that didn’t take anything away from the occasion as Centre Court rose to their feet to celebrate one of Britain’s greatest-ever athletes.
Sue Barker was back at Wimbledon for the tribute
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Everyone slowly heading for the exits then immediately turned back when Sue Barker emerged from behind the scenes to a cacophony of noise.
Barker was synonymous with Wimbledon for decades and was present throughout Murray’s highs and lows at the British slam.
And there was an even bigger roar when the likes of Tim Henman, Dan Evans, Cam Norrie, Jack Draper and Novak Djokovic walked out onto court.
Murray stepped up to talk with Barker before a special montage of his career played on the screens around Centre Court.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal featured prominently as they lavished praise on their former rival, along with Djokovic too.
The video featured highlights from when Murray was just a young kid dreaming of one day conquering the world all the way to the biggest achievements of his career.
It included both of his Olympic gold medal wins as well as his first Grand Slam title coming in the US Open in 2012.
But the loudest cheer of all came when footage showed Murray holding aloft the Wimbledon trophy – not once – but twice in his career.
Novak Djokovic was among those out on court to celebrate Andy Murray’s career
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Barker then gave Murray a microphone as the 37-year-old repeatedly fought back tears as he paid tribute to his family and coaching staff.
“I better say something about my wife or I’ll get in trouble, but this is probably gonna be the hard part,” Murray joked.
“We met for the first time when we were 18 years old. Kim’s dad is a tennis coach and we met over in New York for the first time and went out for dinner there at the US Open.
“I choked a little bit the first time we went out. I walked her home to her hotel and I asked her for her email address.
“I don’t think that’s a normal thing to do [laughs].
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Andy Murray was treated to a special montage looking back on his career
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“The first match she came to watch with me live was at the US Open and I vomited twice in that match – once right in front of where she was sitting.
“I then stood up, vomited on my opponent’s racket bag and she still seemed to like me so I knew she was a keeper after that.”
He added: “She’s been an amazing support to me, to my whole family. She is the best mum.”
Murray then had to quickly stop as he choked up and tried to hold back the tears before making one final joke.
“Unfortunately, in a couple of months, she’s going to have to see me every day.
“Things might be rocky for a little while but hopefully we can stick it out together and looking forward to the rest of our lives.”
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