Andy Murray battles to dramatic Olympics comeback to keep fairytale ending hopes alive

Andy Murray dramatically prolonged his tennis career after victory in the first round of the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympic Games, saving five match points along the way.

Murray, 37, confirmed before the Roland Garros tournament that it would be his farewell appearance before calling time on his career. He pulled out of the men’s singles, feeling his partnership with Dan Evans provided the best chance of bowing out with a medal.

For much of the match it looked as though it wasn’t to be. Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel were tough first-round opponents, and the Team GB pair had no answer to their rivals for much of the tie, only to somehow find an extra gear.

Nishikori and Daniel won the first set 6-2 and went up a break early in the second, only for the Brits to quickly break back and level things up via a tie-break. The match was then decided by a 10-point tie-break, with the Japanese pair racing into a 9-4 lead, only for Murray and Evans to come back from the brink.

Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament @Olympics,” Murray wrote on social media after crossing the channel, confirming it would be his farewell outing. “Competing for GB have been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get do it one final time!”

Murray won men’s singles gold in 2012 and 2016, beating Roger Federer and then Juan Martin del Potro. Injury kept him out of the singles in Tokyo, though, and he stuck to the doubles in Paris after only recently recovering from back surgery.

”Obviously me and Dan have made the commitment to each other that (doubles) was what we were going to prioritise,” the Scot announced. “That gives the team and us the best opportunity to get a medal, realistically.”