Andy Murray announced last week that the Paris Olympics would be his last professional outing on the tennis tour.
It’s becoming quite the fairytale farewell for Andy Murray as he and Dan Evans edged through to the quarter-finals of the Olympic men’s doubles in spellbinding style.
The British pair clutched victory from the jaws of defeat in their opening round match against Japanese pair Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel, surviving five match points in a ten-point tie-break decider to progress by the skin of their teeth.
Today saw a similarly complicated but equally magnificent dance to the finish line.
The British duo stormed to the first set against Belgium’s Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille, before losing out in a cagey second set tie break.
After saving match points once again in the deciding tie-break, Evans thumped down an overhead to seal a spot in the last eight and continue Murray’s special farewell tour, with the two-time Olympic champion immediately moved to tears.
The crowd never once stopped cheering for Andy Murray
It was another moving sub-plot in the Murray tale that continues to twist and turn so wonderfully.
With the Scot sat with head in hands as he finally came to terms with the occasion, the crowd responded triumphantly, offering repeated chants of “Andy, Andy!”
Former player turned pundit, Annabel Croft described the scenes on BBC Sport in astonishment: “I literally cannot believe what we have seen,” she said.
“The drama that we have seen, the rollercoaster we have been on during that match, two hours and four minutes.
“A slow burner that just got better and better and better. It just sums up Andy Murray and what he has done in his career. We are seeing quite a lot of emotion from him now they have shook hands.”
Will Andy Murray somehow secure the perfect Olympic goodbye?
It’s been a whirlwind month for the Brit, whose Wimbledon singles dream was cruelly dashed as an ongoing back injury got the better of him and looked to have spoilt the ultimate farewell.
But as Murray has demonstrated for his entire career, there is always that extra ball he can chase down.
The gold medal triumphs in London and Rio de Janeiro were impressive and powerful, but with his heyday most certainly over, Murray never fails to remind us of his raw talent and courage.
With three Olympic medals so far in his career, the tennis world will be forced to wait a little longer for Murray to hang up the racquet, with the dream finale in Paris continuing in extraordinary style.
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