American ATP star shares what he was sent after finishing fifth at the Olympics which made him ‘so angry’

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Andy Murray soared to dizzying heights in 2016 as he became the first tennis player in history to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing for Murray, who retired from the sport that he left an indelible mark on last week.

After going a break down in the deciding set of his quarter-final clash with Steve Johnson at the Rio Olympics, the Brit was forced to muster up some of his best tennis to cross the line.

And he did just that. Fresh off the back of clinching his third major title at Wimbledon, Murray lit up the crowd to survive a scare against the American, crossing the line in a final set tiebreak.

Salt in the wound for Steve Johnson after loss to Andy Murray

It was an incredibly tough pill to swallow for Johnson, who had the match on the tip of his racket.

However, the pain inflicted by the defeat against Andy Murray wasn’t the only thing that haunted the American upon returning home.

Speaking on the ‘Nothing Major‘ podcast last week, Johnson recalls the turn of events during and after his 2016 Olympic campaign in Rio.

He said: “I lost in the quarters of the singles in Rio to Murray, and he won the gold – I was serving up 4-3 in the third.

“Then about two weeks later, I came home to a package from the Olympics of a piece of paper that said ‘Congrats on fifth’, and I was like ‘I don’t want this’.

“I literally got a piece of paper that said ‘Congrats on your fifth-place finish at the Olympics’. I got home and I was so angry.”

Johnson goes home with a bronze medal

Despite the gut-wrenching defeat in the singles event, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Johnson, who didn’t leave Rio empty-handed.

The ATP star teamed up with fellow American Jack Sock to clinch the men’s doubles bronze medal for their country.

Sock went on to win two more major titles in doubles at the 2018 editions of Wimbledon and the US Open before hanging up his racket to play professional pickleball in 2023.

At 34, Johnson is still an active tennis player but has struggled to find the form that propelled him to number 21 in the world in 2016.