Wimbledon 2024: Murray Pushed Djokovic, Nadal And Federer To Their Limits, Says Philippoussis

Andy Murray should be considered at the same level of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as he approaches the end of his career, says Mark Philippoussis. (More Tennis News)

On Tuesday, Murray confirmed he had withdrawn from what was expected to be his final singles outing at Wimbledon after failing to fully recover from back surgery.

He will play doubles alongside brother Jamie but will now be denied a singles send-off at the tournament he won in 2013 and 2016, making him the only British man to lift the trophy in the Open Era.

While Murray's three grand slam titles put him some way adrift of Djokovic (24), Nadal (22) and Federer (20), 2003 Wimbledon runner-up Philippoussis feels being a multiple major champion in their era makes Murray one of the greats.

"Andy Murray is a great person first of all, I have known him since we were a very young age, I know the family too," Philippoussis told Stats Perform.

"He has an amazing career and people say the top three; they say, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer but I always have him in the top four because I think he was the one who pushed those guys to the limits.

"He's had an amazing career. I wish him luck in his life, in his family life, and his next chapter in the future.

Philippoussis hopes when Murray hangs up his racket, he will stay in the game in some capacity, adding: "What he's brought to the table has been incredible. 

"At the time when you had literally three guys dominating, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. For him to be a multiple grand slam champion, number one in the world and a gold medallist and Davis Cup champion, he's done it all. 

"He might not have the grand slam numbers like the other guys, but he'll definitely go down as one of the greatest. 

"To have done all that when they were dominating the sport is incredibly impressive. It will be sad to see him not at Wimbledon and I hope we'll get a chance to see him one more time.

"I'm proud and it's inspiring to see him still around because he loves the game. Hopefully, he can stay around because he loves the game."

The last few years have seen Murray hampered by injuries, with the Scot undergoing two hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019.

Alexander Bublik, who has won two of five head-to-head meetings with Murray, says watching him frustrated in his bid to recapture past glories has been sad.

"I honestly don't know what to say because he's been struggling and it's painful to see but he enjoys the struggle. The guy is killing himself and he's in pain," he said. 

"It's tough to see because he's been number one in the world, he won three slams, so it's tough for any young player who saw him win big titles, to see him like this."