Andy Murray's glorious swansong goes on after another doubles escape at Paris 2024 alongside Dan Evans
Updated 31/07/2024 at 00:41 GMT+1
When will it end for Andy Murray? Not on Tuesday, after he and doubles partner Dan Evans kept alive the Scot's goodbye tournament at Paris 2024 by seeing off Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Belgium. The British pair were taken to a deciding match tie-break before saving more match points and somehow recovering to progress into the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros.
Watch thrilling moment Murray and Evans seal dramatic victory in doubles
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Great Britain’s Andy Murray and Dan Evans produced more heroics to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Olympic men’s doubles in Paris.
After saving five match points to beat Japan in the previous round, they found themselves on the brink of defeat in another tense deciding 10-point tie-break.
But from 9-7 and two match points down, the GB pair once again displayed all their battling qualities to reel off four points in a row and snatch another unlikely victory.
It means Murray will play at least one more match before retiring, with the Brits set to face either USA’s Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul or Dutch duo Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer.
After the drama of the first-round clash with Japan, it looked like Murray and Evans were in for a smoother ride on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on a warm Tuesday evening in the French capital.
They unleashed a “come on” when they saved two break points to hold serve in the first game of the match before finding form.
Two brilliant return winners brought up three break points at 0-40 on Belgium’s serve, and they clinched it thanks to a pinpoint Evans lob.
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'Extraordinary' - Murray magic with 'incredible' volley at key moment
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On such fine margins are matches won and lost. Another exquisite lob, this time by Murray, made it 3-0 and put Team GB in full control of the opener.
Belgium got on the board and had a chance to get the break back at 3-5 down, but GB survived to take a well-deserved one-set lead.
Neither team was able to muster a break opportunity in the first eight games of what was a far tighter second set, but it looked like the Brits would make a decisive move at 4-4.
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But the Belgians survived two break points to force a tie-break and keep their comeback hopes intact before saving two match points to send the contest into a deciding 10-point breaker.
By this point, the tension inside the stadium was palpable, the players clearly feeling it too.
Errors flowed from both sides of the net, but it was the Belgian pair who took command in the closing stages to open up two match points of their own at 9-7 ahead.
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Emotional Murray and Evans leave court after incredible second-round escape
Video credit: TNT Sports
But staring another defeat in the face, Murray and Evans won four points in a row to progress, the pair again left in disbelief at their latest escapology act.
It was another reminder, as if needed, of what men's tennis will be missing when Murray's run in Paris comes to an end.
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