“I came out, I gave everything I had like always. I left nothing in the locker room and that’s something I can always be proud of.”

“I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had such a great career and that I had the opportunity to go out on my terms. A lot of great sporting athletes don’t have that opportunity.”

Lleyton Hewitt played his final singles match on Thursday, a straight sets loss to David Ferrer. The youngest ever world number one, the Australian won 2 Grand Slam titles (US Open 2001 and Wimbledon 2002), 2 ATP Tour Finals (2001 and 2002) and 2 Davis Cup (1999 and 2003). A skilled volleyer, he also captured the 2000 US Open doubles title with Max Mirnyi.
He inspired loads of today’ players (Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer among others), and his never-die-attitude and counterpuncher skills changed tennis forever.

David Ferrer had some really nice words for him during the on-court ceremony:

“He’s one of the best players in history and I have to tell you that … I don’t have idols, but Lleyton is my idol, I have a shirt signed by him seven years ago … it’s the only t-shirt of a tennis player I have. He’s an amazing player. He deserves everything. Tonight is the day for him, not for me.”

Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic joined the tribute with video messages broadcast during the ceremony:

After the match, past and present champions took on Twitter and Instagram to pay tribute to the legend.

Lleyton Hewitt se despediu hoje das quadras deixando um exemplo de determinação e paixão pelo esporte. Como um grande guerreiro, dedicava-se a cada ponto, a cada jogada, com respeito ao oponente. Com mérito, construiu uma carreira repleta de conquistas e fez história alcançando o topo do ranking mundial em 2001. Amigo, obrigado por toda a sua contribuição para o tênis. Lleyton Hewitt took leave today of the tennis court as an example of determination and passion for the sport. As a great warrior, he devoted himself to every point, every move, with respect to the opponent. With merit, he built up a career full of achievements and made history reaching the top of the world rankings in 2001. Friend, thanks for all your contributions to the tennis.

Une photo publiée par Gustavo Kuerten (@gugakuerten) le 21 Janv. 2016 à 14h21 PST

Congrats legend.

Une photo publiée par Thanasi Kokkinakis (@the_kokk1) le 21 Janv. 2016 à 3h15 PST

Congrats for and amazing career and good luck in you new journey @lleytonhewitt89

Une photo publiée par Feliciano Lopez (@felilopezoficial) le 21 Janv. 2016 à 5h27 PST

We all should just say one thing Thank you so much for the past 2 decades @lleytonhewitt89 for everything you have done for this sport you have been such a big inspiration to so many of us #rusty#legend

Une photo publiée par Alexander Zverev (@alexzverev123) le 21 Janv. 2016 à 4h18 PST