Andy Murray saw the end. Instead, he and Dan Evans wrote a different Olympics script
There is no perfect way to call time, no method of looking into the future to see the end of the script that has been written for you. Except, in a way, there is: “The final match of Andy Murray’s career came in a painful defeat in the Olympics men’s doubles, alongside Dan Evans on a half-full court at Roland Garros,” wrote a certain reporter, sitting in the stands at Suzanne-Lenglen.
“Despite a late rally to force a deciding tiebreak, Murray and Evans were an inexperienced doubles pair and it showed in a 6-2 6-7 (5-7) (10/4) first-round defeat to Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel,” the draft continued, waiting to be sent.
That was on the first match point. Then came the next. And another. Until, somehow, Murray and Evans had saved all five, ripping up the reports that had already been written about them. Not yet. Not tonight. Instead, Murray extended his career and his final tournament at Paris 2024.
Alongside Evans, the Team GB pairing produced one of the most remarkable escape acts to win 2-6 7-6 (7-5) (11/9) a unique scoreline to mark one of the most extraordinary matches of the 37-year-old Murray’s career, even though we are now past the point where, logically, it should have come to an end.
We should have known better than to write Murray off, to dismiss a competitor whose entire existence has been built by determination and perseverance and the refusal to ever be beaten. If anyone knows anything about recovery acts, it’s Murray. With 11 wins from two sets down, more than anyone in tennis history, the Scot produced another defiant escape on smaller scale.
Except, never had Murray played with such a sense of finality on the line. In recent weeks, Murray has accepted that the end had arrived and the time was right to retire. Any of the five match points could have been the final point of his career. Instead, he claimed a memorable win. “It pretty much sums him up,” Evans said.
