'Gutted' fans insist Andy Murray 'deserved a better ending than this' as the Scot is forced to call time on his men's singles career at Wimbledon after withdrawing from first round tie against Tomas Machac through injury

Andy Murray has withdrawn from playing in the men's singles at WimbledonThe Scot had undergone surgery on a spinal cyst in the build-up to the eventTennis fans were left upset as Murray's Wimbledon singles career was ended 

Tennis fans have been left distraught as Andy Murray's men's single career at Wimbledon was brought to a crushing end without him even hitting a ball.

The two-time Wimbledon champion made the 'very difficult' decision to withdraw from his first-round tie against Tomas Machac after confirming he had been unable to recover from an injury in time.

Murray underwent surgery on a spinal cyst just over a week ago and despite his best attempts has failed to regain match fitness for his opening clash at this year's edition of Wimbledon.

The Scotsman will still play alongside his brother, Jamie, in the doubles, but his singles career at the All England Club is now over as Murray prepares to retire from tennis.

His decision to pull out of the tournament is a major blow to organisers and fans who have previously made Murray the centre of attention on his trips to SW19.

Tennis fans have been left distraught as Andy Murray 's men's single career at Wimbledon was brought to a crushing end

Murray underwent surgery on a spinal cyst just over a week ago and despite his best attempts has failed to regain match fitness

The two-time Wimbledon champion made the 'very difficult' decision to withdraw from the competition on Tuesday morning

Thousands flock to England's capital hoping to catch a glimpse of the homegrown star on Centre Court, with Murray now never to return in a singles capacity on the grass surface again.

It means Murray's five-set defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court in the second round last year will go down as his last singles match at Wimbledon.

Fans of Murray posted their sadness on social media in the wake of the announcement as one comment on X stated: 'What a shame. Deserved to go out his own way.'

Another similarly added: 'It's such a shame that Andy Murrays singles career at Wimbledon has ended like this...'.

A third post supporting Murray quipped: 'The most important sportsman in Scotland/the wider UK this century. Deserves a better ending than this.'

Others described Murray's circumstances as 'unfair' and explained they had been left 'gutted' by the news that many were fearing wouldn't happen.

Thousands flock to England's capital hoping to catch a glimpse of the homegrown star on Centre Court

Announcing his decision to not participate in the Wimbeldon men's singles for a final time, Murray's team stated: 'Unfortunately, despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his operation just over a week ago, Andy has taken the very difficult decision not to play the singles this year. 

'As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed but has confirmed that he will be playing in the doubles with Jamie and looks forward to competing at Wimbledon for the last time.'

The healing process on Murray's surgery is going well and improving every day, but it hadn't healed enough for him to be at his best in a singles matchup.

Instead, Murray will begin his final Wimbledon foray alongside his brother on either Friday or Saturday when the doubles duo get their tournament underway.