Andy Murray ‘unbelievably emotional’ after another dramatic win at Paris Olympics
Andy Murray has put retirement on hold for at least a couple more days, after defending more match points to continue his Paris Olympics campaign with Dan Evans.
Murray and Evans beat the Belgian pairing of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, 6-3 6(8)-7 11-9, to progress to the quarter-finals.
However, that only tells half the story after the British pairing found themselves 9-7 down in the match tie-break and just one point away from the end of Murray’s career.
This follows on from their dramatic first round, with Murray and Evans also having to save five match points on that occasion.
Following their win, Murray and Evans were jumping for joy, before the former sat down in tears after enduring another comeback victory.
When speaking to media after the match, Murray explained why he was so emotional, “I mean yeah, obviously it’s unbelievably emotional. You’re obviously unbelievably happy and then for whatever reason, I don’t know why it happens, it’s like happy tears.”
The 37-year-old continued, “I don’t know why that’s the case but yeah I was really emotional at the end of the match. Obviously extremely happy, excited that we managed to get through and another amazing finish so takes a lot out of you that sort of stuff so I’m glad we get a day off tomorrow.”
It means absolutely everything to @andy_murray ❤️
— LTA (@the_LTA) July 30, 2024
As a result of progressing to the quarter-finals, Murray and Evans are now only one win away from putting themselves in a medal match.
However, Murray was in the same position with Joe Salisbury at the Tokyo Games and explained that there is still a long way to go before thinking about adding to his Olympic medal collection just yet.
“Well the next match is an important one,” said Murray. “If we can find a way to get through that one then you get a couple of chances at it.
“But I lost with Joe in the quarters in Tokyo after being a set and a break up and that was really disappointing and we were playing extremely well too. So doubles matches and the way the scoring system is and the way the teams play now, the margins are just, it is so fine that anything can happen really. But we’ve definitely got a chance of getting through to the semis.”
However, doubles partner Evans has suggested that they could be onto a special farewell for Murray, “What happened again was incredible. We’re getting really close to doing something pretty special. We played great tonight.
“People see that, see how good we’ve been in tight moments, and we’re getting better and better. We played good tennis today, it wasn’t like that last match where we were a bit off and played good in parts. I thought we were unlucky not to win 7-6 in the second set, how that volley went in I still don’t know. I don’t think he [Murray] wants to go home, does he?”
Survival instincts 🥶@andy_murray #Paris2024 #Olympics #tennis pic.twitter.com/j106U33x4L
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 30, 2024
Murray and Evans will now have a day off before awaiting the winner of either Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul or the Dutch pairing of Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer on Thursday.
Inside the baseline…
It is hard to find words to describe what Andy Murray and Dan Evans are doing at the moment, but it it just unbelievable. If any tournament could sum up Murray’s incredible career then it would be this, fighting until the very last point and saving seven match points in two matches! Regardless of their next opponent it will be incredibly tough, but Murray and Evans are just one win away from having a guaranteed match at least a bronze medal, so it is very exciting times.
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