Andy Murray is the “greatest we have ever had” says “devastated” BBC tennis presenter Sue Barker after the Briton revealed he plans to retire this year.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray, 31, is being forced to quit because of a hip injury.

The Scot will play at next week’s Australian Open but admitted it could be the final tournament of his career.

“To watch him this morning in tears in that media room, it just shows what it means to him,” Barker told the BBC.

“It is the realisation that he is facing the fact that his career is coming to an end sooner rather than later.”

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Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray, who has also won two Olympic titles and been a world number one, made the announcement in an emotional press conference in Melbourne on Friday.

He said he continues to be in “serious pain” as tries to return to the sport following surgery on his right hip a year ago, and while he wants to play Wimbledon this summer before retiring, he admits that might not be possible.

“Having seen the footage of Andy training in Philadelphia, jumping over these obstacles in the gym, it looked as though he was getting back to full fitness,” said Barker.

“I was a little disappointed in the tournament he played in Brisbane, then I heard he only won a couple of games against Novak Djokovic and I felt it was all going downhill.”

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‘I was crying for weeks’ – Barker on what is to come for Murray

Barker, who won the French Open in 1976, knows first hand the emotions Murray is feeling having retired from tennis in 1984 after suffering recurrent injuries throughout her career.

She said she was “so, so sad” that Murray was having to end his career in the same way, admitting she wishes “every day” she still played.

“You want to do it on your own terms – not to be forced out because your body breaks down,” she said.

“I had to quit because of injury and I was crying for weeks. I used to wake up in the morning and think ‘what am I getting up for now?’.

“Every day had been planned around tennis, whether it was training, nutrition, playing, or travelling, it was my passion.

“I loved my career, and so I know for Andy it is going to be devastating. That is why he is so emotional about it because suddenly something that has been a huge, huge part of your life has been taken away, and I’m not sure how you ever replace that.

“For me, I still wish every day that I could play tennis again. It’s such an incredible, wonderful job to have.”

‘He’s an unbelievable athlete’

Murray’s first Grand Slam title came at the US Open in 2012 but prior to his maiden Olympic triumph later that summer, he had been dealt a heavy blow when he lost the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer.

But just 12 months later, he ended the 77 years of hurt since a British man had last won the Wimbledon singles title, eventually beating Novak Djokovic having let three championship points slip from his grasp.

“The way he dealt with the pressure, and it was immense pressure, to win back in 2013, I just don’t know how he did that,” said Barker. “It was a moment we will all remember forever.

“He is definitely the greatest we have had. The manner in which he has won matches, when he looks like he is down, he manages to find a way to win,” Barker said.

“He’s a great competitor and he is an unbelievable athlete.”

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Tears, triumph and turmoil. Andy Murray has packed plenty of each into his tennis career.

But now the end is close – and may even come next week.

A three-time Grand Slam champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist, ‘Sir Andy’ has taken us from emotional highs to gut-wrenching lows throughout his 14-year career.

Here’s seven times Murray made us laugh, cry – or just feel proud.

When he lost in the Wimbledon final

Grand Slam final number four for Murray was the big one. Wimbledon. Centre Court. His home crowd. His opponent? SW19 favourite Roger Federer.

Murray was trying to become the first British man since 1936 to win the singles title. Federer had already beaten him in two Grand Slam finals – and Murray hadn’t even won a set.

This time, he won the first. But the rain, the nerves, and Federer’s determination, kicked in and the Swiss won in four sets.

The two hugged. Then Murray stepped up to the mic:

As the crowd gave him a standing ovation, Murray cried.

He said he “felt like I was playing for the nation – and I couldn’t quite do it”.

Murray’s tears moved everyone – and he thinks they earned him the respect of the public.

Two months later, he beat Federer to win Olympic gold. By the end of the year, he was a Grand Slam champion.

When he fought for almost five hours to win his first major

Murray wasn’t always popular with the public.

A joke about supporting “whoever England were playing against” at the 2006 World Cup was taken the wrong way by many.

But the tears at Wimbledon and his Olympic success changed perceptions.

There was vocal support for him as he faced Novak Djokovic at the US Open. It was Slam final number five.

Murray won the first two sets but Djokovic forced a decider.

This time the Scot held his nerve. After the disappointment of Wimbledon, it was his time.

When he won Wimbledon and rewrote history

Seventy-seven years of hurt. Seventy-seven years since a British man had won the Wimbledon singles title. Murray changed that.

In front of 15,000 fans on Centre Court, and thousands more packed on to Murray Mound (formerly Henman Hill), he battled with Djokovic once again.

It was hot, the battle was fierce – and Murray let three championship points slip from his grasp. Wimbledon gasped.

But this was a different Murray.

Djokovic was beaten, Murray was Wimbledon champion – 77 years of hurt banished to history.

When he ruled 2016 and became world number one

Murray began 2016 by reaching the Australian Open final, where he lost to Djokovic.

He ended it by beating the Serb to replace him at the top of the world rankings and win the season-ending ATP Tour finals.

2016 was Murray’s year.

He became the first player to successfully defend an Olympic singles title. He won nine of his 13 finals. He won Wimbledon again. He won his final 24 matches of the year. He became the first British player to top the world rankings. And he was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year for a record third time – despite wife Kim voting for show jumper Nick Skelton.

When he championed women’s equality and challenged sexism

“I have been asked about women’s equality,” Murray wrote in 2017, “and I would find it hard to look any of the top female tennis players in the eye if I did not speak my mind.”

Murray has often spoken of the need for equality in sport. He was the first leading male player to hire a female coach – Amelie Mauresmo joining his team in 2014.

Both Murray and Mauresmo were criticised – one male player even sent Murray sexist texts about his coach – but the Scot repeatedly pointed out he had hired her for her experience as a two-time Slam winner.

In a piece for the BBC, Murray said female tennis players made the same sacrifices as men, and when he corrected a journalist’s “casual sexism” at Wimbledon in 2017, a proud mum moment followed:

When he ruled social media

Whether it was posing with Santa or showing off his fashion sense, Murray mastered Twitter and Instagram.

The Scot took fans behind the scenes of his life on tour: he offered tickets to a fan to watch his first-round match in Melbourne after seeing a post online, he’s answered questions, shared his training sessions and generally been a bit tongue in cheek wherever possible.

When he dropped and broke a commemorative plate

Oops.