Gordon Murray, the father of Andy and Jamie’s father Willie, died at the age of 83 last week, shortly after the world number two returned from the US Open.
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The common factor between the matches was fatigue, and Murray will now wait to decide whether he plays in the doubles rubber on Saturday with his brother Jamie.
Del Potro looked favourite to take the second as well but Murray did what Murray does, saving a break point at 4-4 and then creating two set points in the 12th game.
He beat Argentine super star Juan Martin del Potro to take his second gold medal in Olympic competition. However, Del Potro is ranked a lowly No. 64 as he works his way back from a long absence during which he underwent three operations on his wrist.
Andy will play Juan Martin Del Potro in Friday’s match after defeating the Argentinian in the Olympic final a month ago.
Declaring himself very proud of the effort he put in today, he said: “It was very fine margins”.
Murray clung on, however, levelling at one set all after breaking serve for 7-5, following a call from the crowd on set point that incensed Del Potro and Argentine captain Daniel Orsanic. It was clear in his quarter-final loss to Kei Nishikori at the US Open last week that the workload had taken its toll and he has had precious little time to recover. I fought for every point, tried as best as I could. It’s going to be really tough but I’m looking forward to do the surprise.
“I am so happy to be playing tennis again after three surgeries”, said Del Potro. I want to try and finish the year as strong as possible.
Del Potro’s sledgehammer forehand is a weapon feared by all in the tennis world and the odds are Friday’s clash will be another gruelling one, although the surface here is a lot quicker than in Rio.
GB captain Leon Smith opted to name both Edmund and fellow singles player Dan Evans in his four-man team ahead of Dom Inglot.
These two can do most things on a tennis court – what’s clearly beyond them is playing a quick match or anything less than extraordinary.
Considering it was six years since Del Potro last won a five-set match, and nearly three since he contested one, the omens were good.
“We saw last year in the semi-final against Australia, you could see Andy was worn out and he still found a way to do it”, said the 40-year-old.
In the post-draw press conference, Smith had mentioned how robust Murray was physically and mentally, and given the circumstances, Murray admitted the week had been hard.
Smith said: “It’s a hard choice because both Dan and Kyle are playing great tennis, they’re pretty much neck and neck in the rankings, they both have really good Davis Cup experience now”.
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On the opening afternoon, the galleries were fuelled – in this order – by a love for Murray, a desire to see Britain’s Davis Cup team prosper, and the pre-match mojitos and strawberry daiquiris they had been drinking outside in the sunshine.
