Dan Evans is dreaming of winning an Olympic gold medal for himself and Andy Murray after the British duo produced a remarkable comeback in the first round of the men’s doubles
Dan Evans has underlined his commitment to try and win an Olympic gold to give Andy Murray the perfect send-off.
Their first-round clash on Sunday (July 28) saw the British pair pull off a remarkable comeback, saving five match points against Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel of Japan before triumphing with scores of 2-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9.
Staring down defeat at 4-9 in the deciding set, which could have signalled the end of Murray’s career, the Brits showed their fighting spirit as they clawed their way back to win, booking their place in Tuesday’s (July 30) next round where they will face either France’s Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert or Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.
In a month where Murray had to pull out from his Wimbledon mixed doubles commitment due to partner Emma Raducanu’s wrist issues, Evans is keen to pay homage to Murray by capturing Olympic gold to mark the end of the Brit’s storied career.
The jubilant scenes post-match were a testament to the intensity of the moment, with Evans previously expressing his fervent desire to see off Murray with his last honour – showcasing what a team player he is. “There’s nothing more that I want than to get a medal for him and myself,” he said prior to their first-round clash.
Murray, who bagged two gold medals in men’s singles in 2012 and 2016, is as “competitive as ever” in his fifth and final Olympics, according to Evans. “It’s really positive that we agreed on that and we can work together on giving ourselves the best chance,” he expressed.
“I don’t see any reason why we can’t do something special. I don’t think Andy wants it to be a farewell, I think he wants to win a medal and he’ll say goodbye in his own way. He’s here to do a job and get a medal. He was out there the other day doing sprints at the end of our session. Knowing Andy as I do, he’s as competitive as ever, working as hard as ever.
“It’s unbelievable that he has done it in doubles. It pretty much sums him up that this is his last tournament and he has [a comeback]. I’m always in the changing room saying: ‘Ah, another long one for him,’ and now I’m on the court with him. It was something I’ll remember for ever, but it’d be amazing if we went on to do something really special this week after that.”
The 37-year-old has pulled off many comebacks in his career, but Sunday’s one ranks among the best, he revealed. “It’s probably up there,” he admitted. “Probably the way that we were playing to that stage would have not suggested that we were likely to come back. I certainly didn’t feel like I was playing well.
“Evo played well at times but for both of us we can play much better than that. And then it just all clicked at the end and we played some pretty, pretty good stuff.”
