After heroically saving multiple match points in their first match at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Andy Murray and Daniel Evans saved two more match points against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Belgium.
The 37-year-old Brit chose the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as his final career event. He left a huge mark on the Games in the past, winning two gold medals in singles, and felt like the event would be a fitting way to say goodbye to tennis.
Due to the back injury he suffered not too long ago, Murray opted against playing the singles but instead wanted to focus on the doubles with Evans, and so far, it has proven to be an excellent decision.
The first match wasn't very good for the British team, as they showed a lack of chemistry early on. As the match went on, they started to play better and better and ultimately won the match by heroically saving five match points in that match tie-break, coming back from 4-9.
In their second match, things were much easier for them early on, even though their opponents on paper were tougher. Still, they had to save match points once again to get into the quarter-finals of the Olympic tennis tournament.
The Belgian team has been around for a while and are very good doubles players, but they can also dip in level at times. What happened in this match was that Murray and Evans played much better than in the previous match.
They opened by having to save a couple of break points, which they did, but then they broke in the next game, and things settled after that. Both teams held their serve after that easily, but Murray and Evans had the break in hand, so obviously, this outcome benefited them more than the Belgians.
The final score in the opening set ended up being 6-3 for the Brits, with some really good play. They were aggressive; they hit some good winners and outhit the Belgians, who were a bit too timid.
Murray and Evans had a chance to create break chances early in the second set but couldn't get it done. The Belgians were playing much better, and it started on the serve.
They served well and were dominant behind it, dropping barely any points. The Brits weren't too bad either, as they served well and dropped very few points behind their serve.
Both teams sometimes attempted to attack on return, but it didn't really work out, so the score remained tied. At 4-4 in the second set, Murray and Evans were able to drag themselves to a deuce, hoping to apply some pressure and possibly break at the perfect time.
They would get a break chance in that game, a rare one and the first one of that set, but unfortunately, they didn't convert it. Another one followed, but they didn't convert it again, and the Belgians escaped.
It was just too close of a match, and only details would decide who would win the second set. It was a crazy tight tie-break that decided it, with the score being 8-7 when Murray and Evans failed to convert a second match point.
That was a problem because they ended up losing that set, so the match had to be decided in a match tie-break. As expected, it was another close tie-break with a lot of back and forth on both sides.
The Belgians had two match points, but the Brits saved both of them to make it 9-9. Then they made it 10-9 with a great return from Evans, and Murray's perfect serve and Evans' smash secured them an 11-9 win in the match tie-break, which means they won by saving match points again, extending Murray's tennis career.
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