Andy Murray prepares for Queen's goodbye in latest leg of farewell tour

Each tournament and each match feels like a farewell in a sense, and then every now and then Andy Murray does something to suggest he can carry on.

On the practice courts on Mondau at Queen's Club in London, where he has won the event five times, he stood the opposite side of the net from defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

For those keeping score, Murray won 5-2, but three sets in competition are a different matter, which he faces later today against world No48 Alexei Popyrin in his 1,000th match on the ATP Tour.

Murray has not won a match at a main Tour event since twisting his ankle in Miami, and that lack of competitiveness, allied to how his body feels, means the past few weeks have only reinforced his previous admission that he could not see himself playing much beyond the summer.

Speaking on the eve of his final Queen's appearance, the 37-year-old said: "I don't think I will compete in any other tournaments after the Olympic Games. I have now decided, I think the right thing is to say goodbye at Wimbledon or Paris 2024. I have had impressive experiences in both events and the opportunity to participate in a fifth Olympics, it's what makes me happy and motivates me to continue competing at this time.

"My decision not to extend my career beyond these events is based on my recent results and how I feel physically. My plans beyond the summer have not changed."

Beyond today's appearance, Murray is lined up play alongside Dan Evans here as they bid to cement their doubles place at the Paris Games, having already been selected to represent Team GB in the singles. Whether

Murray eventually chooses to call time at Wimbledon or in Paris, he leaves British tennis in far better hands than when he first burst on to the scene.

Then, he was regularly the only mainstay in a singles draw, but just last weekend there were men's and women's event winners in Katie Boulter and Jack Draper.

It is Draper who excites Murray most of the new breed, tipping him as a future world No1, having just risen to British No1 for the first time. It is perhaps fitting in a passing of the baton of British men's tennis that Draper should be due on court today straight after Murray, against Argentina's Mariano Navone.

Of that praise, Draper said: "It's amazing to hear that from someone like Andy. My goal is to be one of the best players in the world, that's sort of what I have wanted.

"I think by winning a title last week, it helps me to sort of believe more and move [up the rankings], because it's been tough. I have been close a few times and not quite getting over the line."