By night’s end Murray stood atop the dais, flanked by del Potro and Kei Nishikori, who had earlier edged Nadal for bronze.
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Questioned about his achievement, Murray said: “The fact that it hasn’t been done before shows it’s a very hard thing to do”.
Hingis, 35, and playing her first Olympics since her debut in Atlanta in 1996, saw her gold medal hopes shattered in the women’s doubles final.
“It’s obviously a very hard thing to do, hence why it’s not been done before”.
Though Nishikori’s speed allowed him to punch back against Murray’s blazing ground strokes, the Japanese player was plagued by too many unforced errors.
He may well face another jaded opponent in the gold medal match on Sunday when he takes on Juan Martin Del Potro for the first time since the quarter finals of Indian Wells back in 2013. The former gold medalist, defeated Nishikori in impressive fashion, having won his first set in under 30 minutes, according to BBC Sport.
Murray served his way to an unexpectedly simple victory, winning arguably the point of the tournament, a 23-shot rally, to set up a third match point.
“He played extremely well and it’s incredible to see him back competing at this level after all the issues he has had”, said Murray of Del Potro – who now has an Olympic silver to go with his bronze in London. Though he hinted that the victory-and the Silver medal it guaranteed-was enough for him, Del Potro competitive instincts kicked in on Sunday despite obvious fatigue.
Britain’s world No. 2, who beat Roger Federer for gold at London 2012, emerged victorious from an almighty four-hour struggle against a man whose run to the final has made him one of the most popular athletes of these Games.
Nishikori had lost nine of his previous meetings against Nadal.
Andy Murray was in tears after becoming the only tennis player to win Olympic gold twice.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal admitted he was still being bothered by his wrist injury after losing the bronze medal match at the Olympics.
But it will be tough for the popular Argentine and even more so after a battle with Rafa and that the final of the Olympics is played over the best of five sets rather than three.
But he was riled both by a long bathroom break Nishikori took prior to the decider and then spectators moving around during points and was unable to mount a second comeback.
By reaching the final, and defeating two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the semi-finals along the way, Puig has already guaranteed herself a medal, the ninth ever won by island nation Puerto Rico, a United States territory.
But Kerber, the world’s No. 2 female player who is known for her aggressive counter-attacking style, has delivered consistently dominant performances so far in Rio. Now, a month after snaring the Wimbledon title for a second time, Murray – Great Britain’s flag-bearer last week – owns two golds.
Monica Puig clinched the women’s singles gold medal for Puerto Rico, defeating Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
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They lost 6-7 (3/7), 6-1, 10-7 to United States compatriots Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock.
