Andy Murray described crying “happy tears” after he and his men’s doubles partner, Dan Evans, reached the Paris 2024 quarter-finals in dramatic fashion to leave him two wins from adorning his career swansong with an Olympic medal.
The 37-year-old sank into his chair, holding his head in his hands, after Evans put away a volley that secured a 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), (11-9) win over the Belgian pair Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen. They pulled through in a tense final tie-break with their second act of escapology in the space of three days, saving two match points and ensuring a fairytale end to Murray’s life in professional tennis remains in prospect.
“It was unbelievably emotional,” said Murray, who is twice an Olympic singles champion and a three-time grand slam title winner. “You’re unbelievably happy and then for whatever reason, I don’t know why, but happy tears. I was really emotional at the end of the match, extremely happy, excited that we managed to get through another amazing finish.”
The British teammates had saved five match points in Sunday’s first-round match against Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel. Having squandered two of their own this time in a second set they ultimately lost, they were staring down the barrel of a crushing anticlimax when their opponents took a 9-7 lead in the decider. They stood tall again, winning four points in a row and sparking wild celebrations among those who had stayed until almost 10.30pm local time in a sparsely attended Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
“I don’t think he wants to go home, does he?” said Evans of his decorated sidekick. “We’re getting close, really close to doing something pretty special. We played great tonight. People see how good we’ve been in tight moments and we’re getting better and better.”
Murray and Evans will have a day off before facing either the American pair, Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz, or the Dutch partnership of Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer on Thursday. Should they win that tie, they will reach the semi-finals and be guaranteed a further crack at either gold or bronze. A medal of any colour would provide an astounding finale for a player whose resilience is extraordinary.
