Andy Murray continued his retirement party by beating Belgian pair Sander Gille and Jordan Vliegen alongside Dan Evans at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 37-year-old will hang up his racket after the Games, ending a successful career that has seen him win three Grand Slam titles.
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But that moment will have to wait as he won again at Roland Garros, setting up a potential quarter-final against Team USA’s duo of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul should they win on Wednesday.
Murray and Evans scored a 6-3 6-7 (8-10) 11-9 win against Team Belgium and there was another outpour of emotion from both players.
After missing two match points in the second-set tie-break, they managed to get the job done in the deciding tie-break, thanks to an emphatic Murray serve which was followed up by a powerful Evans overhead to send the ball into the stands.
It was once again a miraculous display from Murray, who seems to never give up even in the tough moments.
NEVER BACK DOWN, NEVER WHAT?
NEVER GIVE UP.
Andy Murray and Dan Evans keep the Olympic dream alive!#BBCOLYMPCIS #PARIS2024 #OLYMPICS PIC.TWITTER.COM/XEDADKBWYM
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) JULY 30, 2024
The pair fought off five match points against Japan’s Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori and went on to win and they did more than enough to replicate that win two nights later.
Murray has three Olympic medals to his name but earning a fourth would be a testament to his dedication over an entertaining career.
He won gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016 in the singles, and also won silver in the mixed doubles 12 years ago alongside Laura Robson.
Nadalcaraz march on
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz also marched on to the quarter-finals earlier in the day.
They beat Dutch opponents Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 10-2.
It was a packed out crowd in Paris as fans flocked once again to see the King of Clay and reigning Wimbledon champion.
It was not an easy match for the pair, who looked on course after the first set.
But the Dutch duo fought back to win the second, forcing a third set tie-break.
However, the Spanish partners breezed through, forfeiting just two points.
And Nadal said afterwards that he is suffering having exited the singles to Novak Djokovic the other day, but he is still having fun.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz move into the quarter-finals in the men’s doubles!
The Spanish pairing were pushed all the way by Dutch duo Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof. 👏#BBCOlympics #Olympics pic.twitter.com/S1VOjkGwNn
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 30, 2024
He said: “We had fun because the score was positive in the (match) tie-break.
“We have been suffering but we are enjoying playing together, we are creating good synergies, good energy, so yeah, we are having fun in general terms.
“We have the positive relationship outside of the court that helps inside (the court).
“We are not used to playing doubles so the only way to make that work well is to play with happiness, with energy, with high energy. That’s what we are trying to do.”
Nadal and Alcaraz will face Austin Kraijicek and Rajeev Ram in the quarter-final.
It is one step closer to another gold medal for the 38-year-old, who is chasing a third in his career.
