This is the second straight Olympic gold medal for Murray after winning the 2012 London Olympics, four year ago where he defeated the now injured Roger Federer in straights sets by the score of 6-2, 6-1 and 6-4.
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For the second straight Olympic Games, Great Britain’s Andy Murray captured the gold medal in men’s singles tennis on Sunday, defeating Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro 7-5 4-6 6-2 7-5.
John Inverdale, a journalist known for his loose tongue and his subsequent apologies for it, asked Murray, “You’re the first person ever to win two Olympic tennis gold medals”.
Nine days after he carried the flag at the opening ceremony, he wrapped himself in the flag, after becoming the first man to defend an Olympic men’s singles title in a sizzling final with Del Potro.
The resurgent Del Potro will be joined in the draw by American Rajeev Ram. It was quite a run for del Potro in Brazil: With his terrific forehand in top form, he stunned 12-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the first round and 14-time major champion Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.
Will the US Open be on TV? “I’m just glad I managed to get through it”, said Murray.
After winning the gold medal yesterday, Murray was not shy about his desire to take the US Open, stating “Novak has played incredible tennis”. Both of us had a lot of chances and, it was a long and tiring match.
Surely Djokovic feels the same, and should he take the title it will still have been a brilliant year for him: victorious at three out of four Grand Slams.
“You always go into a match trying to win it and you never know if you are going to be able to cross that line”, said 36-year-old Venus who had to be content with a record-equalling fifth medal in total.
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In two weeks’ time he will begin his US Open campaign and in order to best prepare for Flushing Meadows he flew straight from Rio to America for the Masters tournament in Cincinnati.
