PRIME Minister Sir Keir Starmer led the tributes to Sir Andy Murray after his tennis career ended with defeat in the quarter-finals of the Olympic men’s doubles.

Twenty-one years after his first professional match, Murray’s hopes of a medal-winning swansong evaporated in a 6-2 6-4 loss to US third seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul alongside his doubles partner Dan Evans.

Shortly after the defeat, Murray jokingly posted on Twitter: “Never even liked tennis anyway.”

The tennis great also changed his Twitter bio immediately after the match from “I play tennis” to “I played tennis.”

Following the result, Starmer took to Twitter to lead tributes to the Scotsman: “1 Davis Cup, 2 Olympic golds and 3 Grand Slams.

“But more than that, thanks [Andy Murray] for two decades of phenomenal entertainment and sportsmanship.

“A true British great.”

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said: “Sir Andy Murray is Scotland’s greatest ever sportsman, and his achievements during one of the toughest eras in tennis history will mark him down as a true sporting legend.

“The whole of Scotland is so proud of Sir Andy and while we are disappointed that we will no longer get to see him compete with his trademark fighting spirit, we thank him for the incredible memories he gave us over so many years and wish him the very best for his well-earned retirement.”

London mayor Sadiq Khan also posted a social media tribute: “Andy Murray until the end. Thank you for the skill, the courage, the joy, the memories – and the drama.”