Sir Andy Murray - one last dance
Rewind to 2016, and Sir Andy Murray had just tasted gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016 after the back of being crowned the Wimbledon champion for the second time in his career. Fast forward to 2024 and it has been a long, tiring eight years of suffering with injuries, which has seen him slip out of the top 100 of the ATP rankings. The first signs of his hip flare-up appeared in June 2017, after he lost to Wawrinka in the French Open semi-final. What followed was a turbulent ride, with his form heavily affected by injury after injury and operation after operation. Needless to say, even if Murray is 'delaying' his retirement for one more shot at an Olympic medal, he has already cemented himself as one of Britain’s most treasured athletes.
Even in an era with Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic—who are not only considered the greatest tennis players of all time but are often in the conversation as being the greatest athletes of all time—Murray had spells of dominance. Between 2012 and 2016, Murray won three Grand Slams, two Olympic gold medals, and was world No. 1 in the ATP rankings for 41 weeks. Here in Paris 2024, Murray has one last opportunity to relive those days and bow out with what would be one of his most treasured sporting achievements.
Murray has teamed up with Dan Evans, who also has a lot to prove. Not only will he feel the weight and pressure of pairing with Murray in his last competition, but for his own personal pride, Evans has never yet reached the pinnacle of tennis’s greatest stage.
They started off their Olympic campaign against the experienced Kei Nishikori and his partner Taro Daniel poorly. The pressure and occasion were clearly getting to them in the first set. Visibly, you could see the physical battle Murray has been having with his body over the years. But, as in many of Murray’s best games over his career, they managed to stay in contention. After losing the first set 2-6, they won the second on a tiebreaker, and then came back from five match points in the third set tiebreaker to win the tie—a great escape. Murray was not done just yet.
In the second round, the British faced the Belgian outfit of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, who had just reached their maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros, proving stern competition. But Murray and Evans’ game plan had seemingly gone to perfection as they found themselves 6-3 up in the first set and with a match point in the second. Yet, just like in the first game, the duo did it the hard way, conceding the second set but winning the third tiebreaker in dramatic fashion. The Belgians found themselves 8-6 up with two match points before the Brits turned it around to clinch the third and deciding set 11-9. “I don’t think he wants to go home, does he?” chuckled Evans.
And so they venture on into the quarter-finals. It’s far-reaching, but a match-up against ‘Nadalcarez’ is beyond the horizon.
