Andy Murray said he will look back on his career with immense pride as he retired from professional tennis at the Olympic Games on Thursday night.

Murray and his doubles partner Dan Evans were defeated 6-2, 6-4 by Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz, the American third seeds, in the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles in Paris. The defeat is the final match of Murray’s career.

“I’m proud of my career, I worked really hard to achieve the results I did, at a really difficult time to win major finals,” Murray told Eurosport. “I gave it a good go, put my body through a lot … looking forward to a rest now.”

Murray and Evans had enjoyed a dramatic week in order to reach the quarter-finals. After trailing 2-6, 2-4 in the opening round against Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel, the British pair recovered from that deficit to force a final set tie-break. Down 4-9 and five match points in the tie-break, they won seven points in a row to keep Murray’s career going.

They then saved two more match points in the second round match. Despite another late surge from the British pair on Thursday evening, as they saved another match point at 2-6, 2-5 down, Fritz and Paul, two top 15-ranked singles players, held on to go through.

“Disappointed with the result, we didn’t play well enough to get through, but we fought right to the end, almost found something, but left ourselves too much to do. I’m happy to have finished with an exciting run, we gave it our best effort,” said Murray.

The final months of his career have been hampered by significant injuries after he tore ankle ligaments in March and then had back surgery in June shortly before Wimbledon. Murray said that the back surgery, and the damage that prolonging his career might do to his body, had played a big role in him accepting this is the end.

“A few months ago, I was not looking forward to it. I love playing tennis … but after the operation on my back before Queen’s, I was struggling to walk; physically it’s been tough. I’m not able to move around the court, and compete to the level that I want to. I was worried what I would do with myself, but I’m happy that I’m ­finishing now.”