He will play either Rafael Nadal or Juan Martin Del Potro for the gold medal on Sunday, when hopefully there will be more people there to witness it.
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With Murray apparently distracted towards the end of the second set, Johnson restored parity, one break in the opening game of the second set enough to give him his first game of the match, and seemed on course for a huge upset when he broke for a 4-3 lead in the deciding set.
Having fought back from 3-0 down in the final set against Fabio Fognini in his third-round match, Murray went through the wringer again when taking on American Steve Johnson.
“I am guaranteed a medal already but the goal is to win gold and I’ll do all I can to do it”.
Andy Murray has beaten Steve Johnson in the quarter-finals of the men’s singles at Rio 2016 to advance to the semi-finals. “It wasn’t pretty at times, but the main thing is I’m through and maybe will play a better match next time”.
The tension of the first set returned with neither player able to find a break of serve, sending the match into a deciding tie-breaker.
If you need a reminder of Nishikori’s ball-control skills replay this game where he dished the drop shot-lob combination platter and curled a clever short-angled forehand digging out of a 0-30 hole.
Boom! Andy #Murray is into a 2nd consecutive #Olympics Final after smashing #Nishikori 6-1, 6-4! He exhausted his opponent with an array of powerful backhands and long rallies to take the last six games on the trot and wrap up what has been his most hard tie so far.
The second-ranked Murray stretched his winning streak to 17 matches in a performance that was both creative and convincing.
“I just congratulate Del Potro for a great, great event for him”, Nadal said after the loss.
Sensational start for Andy #Murray as he takes the first set 6-1 against #Nishikori in #Rio2016 semi-finals!
“I want to focus”, Nishikori said after learning his opponent in the semifinal would be Murray.
If he wins, he will become the first player, male or female, to win two Olympic singles titles.
That gave Murray his third match point, which he converted with a service victor. I’m not really thinking about the stuff that goes with it.
ALSO READ:Roger Federer tweets saddest Rio Olympics 2016; Swiss legend’s quest for game perfection in 2017?
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Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova won the Olympic bronze medal in women’s tennis.
