Andy Murray is set to add to his growing collection of titles and medals after guaranteeing at least a silver medal at the Rio Olympics. There, Murray will meet Juan Martin del Potro, the man who took down Nadal in three sets in the other semifinal match.
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Andy Murray celebrates after scraping into the Rio Olympics semifinals with a third set tiebreak win in the quarters.
“It could be even better than the US Open tournament”, del Potro said, referring to the 2009 tournament he won for his only Grand Slam title.
2012 Olympic bronze medallist Juan-Martin del Potro booked a place in the semi-finals for the second successive games when he beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut in straight sets 7-5 and 7-6.
Del Potro’s silver goes alongside his bronze from four years ago. He had only played just six tournaments in 2014 and even fewer in 2015-just two. Soon after, a fan wearing a shirt with Argentina’s colors was escorted out.
It came down to the tie-break and by this point, it looked like the two epic matches Nadal played on Friday took their toll and Rafa ran out of steam.
But they were all on their feet at the end of the remarkable penultimate point, which ended with Murray sat on his backside with his arm aloft after somehow conjuring a winning passing shot. Not all were pretty, though, as they combined for 102 unforced errors, and 85 winners.
Murray, who was broken in the first game of the set, was unable to control Del Potro’s battling spirit as the Argentinian survived a Murray onslaught to serve out to second set. That same formula worked against Nadal, with 18 of del Potro’s 19 groundstroke winners coming off his preferred wing.
Learn more about Spain’s Rafael Nadal, the 2008 gold medalist in men’s singles and victor of 14 Grand Slam titles.
After trailing early on, the quartet of Laura Trott, Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker and Joanna Rowsell-Shand cranked up the pace to devastating effect, winning in 4:10.236 – almost two seconds quicker than the world record they set in the heats. He closed his eyes, rolled back his head, stuck out his tongue and sucked air. Moments later, del Potro planted a smooch on the dot atop the middle letter of “Rio” near the five rings. By the fourth set, he was leaning on his racket as if it were a cane. When he realized he’d won the point, he raised a fist, then stood and motioned to the crowd for more noise. His supporters responded dutifully, raising a ruckus with their song of “Ole, ole, ole, ole!”
The final will go down as one of the best in the Olympics, lasting over four hours and ending with both men embracing at the net. At 30-all, he was warned by chair umpire Carlos Ramos for taking too much time between points.
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Both players embraced for an age, while Del Potro was given a rousing reception before slouching back into his chair.
