Murray, who won gold in the men’s singles at London 2012, is the first tennis player to enjoy the honour and was picked ahead of veteran long-distance runner Jo Pavey and boxer Nicola Adams.
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“I am very proud”.
“I felt very proud and humbled, and said it would be a big honour to do it”, he said of his reaction to being asked to lead the British delegation into the Maracana Stadium.
“To lead out your country at an Olympic Games is obviously a huge, huge moment in anyone’s career and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life”.
“It was great winning Wimbledon again but it’s time to move on and focus on this event and I feel in a good place”.
“I’ll try and get a bit of practice in before the opening ceremony”.
The number one British tennis player was displaying the flag to the media, standing beside Princess Anne, who is herself a former Olympian and now an International Olympic Committee member.
Murray clinched gold in the men’s singles at London 2012, defeating multiple Grand Slam victor Roger Federer in the final, and the British number one arrives in Brazil full of confidence.
A British Olympic Association panel selected Murray to be flag bearer after each sport put forward athletes to a shortlist.
The Scot will head a British team of 366 competitors, although a sizeable proportion of the athletes are yet to arrive in Brazil.
Djokovic took bronze at the Beijing 2008 Games and just missed out on a medal at the London 2012 Games, where he was the Serbian team’s flag bearer.
The three-time Grand Slam victor said he would try to carry the flag with one hand in an attempt to copy Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Matthew Pinsent and Sir Chris Hoy at previous opening ceremonies.
“I was speechless”, explained Murray who said that England had made the decision based on his “perseverance and spirit”.
World number one Djokovic said he has no fears about playing in Rio where he seeks a first Olympic gold medal to add to the career Grand Slam of the four majors he completed at the French Open in June.
Before injury forced him out of the Olympics, world number three Roger Federer had said that he was intending to stay in a hotel rather than with the Swiss team.
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“I will be incredibly proud to hear him address the team and I have no doubt he will inspire our athletes and the nation alike”.
