Murray is beaten one last time as sun sets on one of the great sporting careers

British great retires after he and Dan Evans lose 6-2, 6-4 in quarter-final to US pair

- Tumaini Carayol

As the sun set over the stadium on a quiet Parisian night, one of the greatest sporting careers Great Britain has produced came to an understated ending as Andy Murray was defeated for the last time.

After a week of delirious, crazy comebacks that presented a perfect summation of a waning career that has been filled with them, Murray and Evans were defeated by two of the best in the world, losing 6-2, 6-4 to Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul of the United States in the men's doubles quarter-finals.

Murray made his final farewell on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, the second biggest court here. Although it was only half-full after another long day of matches, most that had stayed were there to catch a glimpse of Murray one last time. The few scattered "USA! USA!" chants were immediately booed. Among those in the audience was the great Billie Jean King; it was hard to imagine she was rooting for her compatriots.

In a doubles draw, filled with scratch pairings, unfamiliar partnerships and singles players, Murray and Evans found themselves up against the No 1 and No 2 Americans.

As childhood best friends, Fritz and Paul have played together many times but in their 16 previous tournaments in doubles, with singles their priority, they had won three successive matches once.