“Tonight was one of the hardest matches that I had to play for a big title”, Murray said.
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SERENA WILLIAMS: It’s not entirely clear what went wrong for Serena Williams, who lost in the third round of singles and the first round of doubles with her sister Venus (they won gold in all three previous Olympic appearances together).
The opening four games of the fourth set went against serve before Del Potro served for it, only to be broken after an exhausting 10th game.
“He’d done fantastic, really, to get back to playing and competing again at this level after all of the issues he had”, Murray said.
Nishikori, 26, had never been past the quarter-finals at a Games.
Del Potro took the early advantage in the second set, breaking for a 1-0 lead and then saving numerous break points for a tough hold in the second game of the set.
His serve was also firing, and Murray had few opportunities to get back on level terms.
In a classic that lasted over four hours, the British number one prevailed by a 7-5 4-6 6-2 7-5 scoreline to match his achievement in London four years ago.
Andy Murray became the first player to win two Olympic tennis singles gold medals Sunday when he defeated Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in an epic final. In the very next game, Murray failed to convert three break points, and that was basically his last chance in that set. Del Potro hit his forehand with power that often left the crowd gasping.
The Argentine then committed two double-faults, falling behind 4-2.
So tired was Murray when Del Potro’s final backhand landed in the net that he could barely raise his arms above his head and he engaged in a long, emotional hug with his opponent at the net at the end of a night neither will ever forget. By the fourth set, he was leaning on his racket as if it were a cane.
Del Potro, conqueror of both Djokovic and Nadal here, at 6ft 6ins (1.98m) was somehow a fitting giant to fell. He let one match point slip through his grasp before closing out the win on his second.
Murray began the Olympics carrying the flag for Great Britain. He’s the top seed for the tournament and is a two-time victor of the event. No man ever has defeated the top three seeds on the way to a gold, but 2009 USA champion del Potro sure came close before winding up with a silver to go alongside his bronze from 2012.
Andy Murray is making a habit of accomplishing things that hadn’t been done in a while.
In the relentless world of tennis, Murray was not even able to take one night to celebrate his gold medal, instead joining Nadal in flying on a private jet to Miami – if he made it on time – ahead of next week’s Masters tournament in Cincinnati. When I saw the draw and my first match would be Djokovic, I said, ‘OK, it’s going to be a short tournament for me.
Speaking after the match he said: “At 33 I’m not sure I’ll be at the same level”. I haven’t won every one but I’ve been close.
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“What he’s had to go through over the last three years or so with his wrists – I can’t imagine how mentally hard that would have been”, said the Briton. “To come out of it with a medal is incredible, and to come out of it with gold, unbelievable”.
