Murray became the first tennis player in Olympic history with two singles gold medals, winning his second in a row by wearing down Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 at the Rio de Janeiro Games in a final that lasted a tad more than 4 hours Sunday.
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He squandered a 5-2 lead in the second set before winning 6-2, 6-7, 6-3.
More pure talent or not, late-tournament success is a war of attrition and it’s perfectly clear that Murray is the man for that.
Andy Murray remains on course to defend his Olympic title after he booked his place in the final with a 6-1 6-4 win over Kei Nishikori. It was a rematch of the London 2012 Bronze Medal Match, which Djokovic lost.
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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.
In Sunday’s gold medal match, the 29-year-old Briton will face either Spain’s Rafa Nadal or Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, who play later Saturday. Del Potro fired 5 aces to 1 against Nadal, as well as converting on his single break point attempt.
In an era dominated by three all-time greats, to accomplish something Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have not done first, and nearly certainly never will, is a huge feather in Murray’s cap.
Murray cried into his towel while del Potro wiped away the tears from his eyes, taking the applause from a crowd which had backed him throughout the tournament.
Ranked 141st in the world after two years plagued by injury, Del Potro came back from a set down against Nadal to win the day, prevailing in a tense tie-break in the decisive third set.
“I think I played really well, especially on serve”, said Murray, who is aiming to become the first man ever to retain his Olympic singles title. Murray won gold at the 2012 London Games where he defeated Switzerland’s Roger Federer in the final. Puig had done her best to memorize the island’s anthem after her father emailed her the lyrics, but as that song played during a medal ceremony for the first time, she couldn’t get out the words.
“I didn’t say “stupid umpire”, I said “stupid umpiring”.
Nadal tackles del Potro buoyed by his men’s doubles gold with Marc Lopez on Friday night.
Murray recovered and powered through to win the third set 6-2 and looked in real control.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori had earlier won a similarly tough clash with Spain’s 14-time Grand Slam victor Rafael Nadal for the bronze medal.
First Wimbledon victor in 77 years, inspiring a first Davis Cup win in 79 years, a British record 11 Grand Slam final appearances and today he seeks to become the first man to defend an Olympic men’s singles title.
But Kerber, the world’s No. 2 female player who is known for her aggressive counter-attacking style, has delivered consistently dominant performances so far in Rio.
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“The last four months definitely have been the best period of my career”, said Murray.
