“It hasn’t been done before shows it’s very hard, so I’m very proud to have done that”. “Physically, it was hard”, he said.
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The Briton had been a hot favourite to retain his title, despite del Potro’s form on the hardcourts in Rio.
Nadal, the 2008 singles champion in Beijing, was playing his 11th match in Rio. In 2013, he captured Wimbledon and became the first British player since Fred Perry 77 years earlier to win the title. But Andy Murray managed to buck the trend in his grueling match for gold. “To have the chance to have two is much more than a dream”.
“But tonight I found it really hard emotionally, it was tough physically. I’ve gone through some tough times on court”.
“I am very exhausted”.
And a yay from del Potro.
Judy, who will be supporting Andy at the US Open, watched the match by herself without the sound on.
But he came up against a player on a career-defining run in the final.
Del Potro swiftly responded, however, breaking early in the second before holding on to take the set 6-4.
They nearly went to a fifth set, too, because del Potro served for the fourth at 5-4, but was broken there, then again in the final game.
It was in the fourth set that both players truly began to feel the exhaustion taking over.
During the tennis telecast, one of the commentators raised an interesting question regarding Murray and fellow tennis giant Djokovic: who has had the better year?
The match seemed to go on for an eternity – the final scores being 7-5 4-6 6-2 7-5.
So when Del Potro sent a backhand into the net to end the match, Murray dropped his head, more relieved than thrilled.
Rio de Janeiro (dpa) – When Andy Murray took to the Olympic tennis court in Rio on Sunday, the odds were stacked well in his favour. In any other match, only 2 sets were necessary.
Some are saying the win could be Murray’s greatest ever ahcievement, but the Scot refused to be drawn on whether he will defend his title in Tokyo in four years time. He started the tournament by upsetting World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round and later pulled another upset, defeating Rafael Nadal in the semifinals to set the date with Murray. However, Delpo couldn’t serve it out the set at 5-4.
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In the mixed doubles final, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock won an All-American fight, beating Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 10-7. She cheered on Simone Biles and Simone Manuel after their incredible gold medal wins in gymnastics and swimming, respectively.
