Murray and Evans through after thrilling first-round comeback

By Sports Desk July 28, 2024

Andy Murray delayed his retirement with an epic Olympics first-round comeback as he and Dan Evans fought back to beat Japan's Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniels.

The two-time gold medallist looked set to be playing his final game, but Team GB prevailed 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 11-9 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Nishikori and Daniels, who were both eliminated from the men's singles competition earlier in the day, were keen to make amends and broke the British pair twice in the last four games of the opening set to draw first blood.

Murray and Evans responded well and replied to two breaks in the second set to force a tie-break, in which they held their nerve to level.

In the final set decider, the curtain looked sure to come down on Murray's glittering career, but the Brits survived five match points to level the tie-break at 9-9 before remarkably booking their place in the next round.

Data Debrief: From the jaws of defeat

Nishikori and Daniels could not have asked for a better first set as they brushed their opponents aside, making just four unforced errors to Team GB's 10.

However, Murray and Evans' resilience kicked in, and they saved two break points in the second set. In the decider, they won the last seven points to storm through, leaving their opponents shocked.

In an already memorable tournament for Murray, he has just played a match that will live long in the memory.

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    Team GB looked set to crash out of the Olympics in the first round, but a thrilling match instead saw them prevail 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 11-9 against Japan's Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniels.

    Having already forced a tie-break in the second set, Murray and Evans had to dig deep once again in the decider after going 9-4 down, and remarkably saved five match points before booking their place in the next round.

    Murray, who is set to retire at the end of the Olympics, lauded Evans for the part he played in the dramatic fightback that has prolonged his career by at least one more match.

    "I don't think I've saved five match points in a row – in singles it's almost impossible to do that, so I don't think I've ever done that before," Murray said after their win.

    "It's probably up there in terms of comebacks – probably the way we were playing to that stage would have not suggested we were able to come back.

    "In my career, I've turned around a lot of matches I've looked unlikely to win or people thought I shouldn't have won - at times I've had that mental toughness, strength that was at times early on in my career was questioned.

    "I'm really proud of that - I always try my best to fight and figure out ways to come through. I certainly couldn't have done that on my own today – as a team, Evo played his part in that.

    "Evo has shown that before and helped me big time today. We both served well, came up with some great returns, and it was a brilliant turnaround."

    Murray and Evans will face either Belgium's Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen or France's Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert in the next round.  

  • United States 4-1 Germany: Smith and Swanson send Star and Stripes into Olympic quarter-finals United States 4-1 Germany: Smith and Swanson send Star and Stripes into Olympic quarter-finals

    The United States booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Paris Olympic Games with a match to spare after a commanding 4-1 victory over Germany.

    Sophia Smith netted a first-half double on either side of Mallory Swanson's goal before Lynn Williams wrapped up the points late on.

    Giulia Gwinn had given Germany hope by equalising, but the USA were too strong as they ruthlessly booked a place in the knockout rounds.

    The USA made a quick start, with Smith darting in front of her marker to slot a close-range tap-in past Ann-Katrin Berger, only for Gwinn to cancel it out 11 minutes later with a pinpoint shot into the bottom-left corner.

    Emma Hayes' side soon asserted their dominance though – Swanson reacted quickest to latch onto Smith's saved shot, firing in from an acute angle on the left.

    Smith then got her second just before the break, helped by a huge deflection, as her effort looped over Berger before bouncing over the line off the inside of the far post.

    Jule Brand struck the woodwork just after the hour mark before further misery was piled on the Germans as captain Alexandra Popp was forced off late in the second half with a knee injury that they will be hoping is not too serious. 

    Williams rounded things off by making a quick impact off the bench, finishing off a lightning-quick counter-attack just under four minutes after coming on. 

    Data Debrief: Smith and Swanson on song

    The USA got the job done in the first half, ensuring Hayes became just the second coach to win each of their first two major tournament matches in charge, after Anson Dorrance in the 1991 World Cup.

    Swanson added to her double against Zambia with another goal in Marseille and is just the second player in USA's history to net three times in the group stage of a single Olympics, after Abby Wambach in 2012.

    Before today, the winner of each of the five previous major tournament meetings between the USA and Germany has gone on to win the entire tournament, and Hayes will be hoping that is a good sign of what is to come.

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    "We expect nothing less," he said. "We know what he can do when the ball is in his hand, and he got hot. It was fun to watch his first time, second time, 12th.

    "To see and be a fan and actually get a chance to cheer for him instead of rooting against [him] with his scoring ability – man, it was fun to watch."

    Durant was not the only one in fine form, as LeBron James marked his Olympic comeback with a standout performance, getting 21 points, eight rebounds and nine assists as he provided a spark.

    James and Durant also became the first USA team-mates to both score over 20 points in an Olympic opener.

    The 39-year-old, playing his first contest at the Games since 2012, when he won his second consecutive gold medal, was full of praise for Durant and the team as the USA chase a sixth title in a row.

    "I mean [Durant] is just an out-of-this-world talent," he said after the game. "That's the best game we played so far.

    "[I'll do] Whatever it takes [to win]. It's going to be somebody different every day. And we have that type of firepower."

    Next up for Team USA in Group C is South Sudan, who made history in their Olympic debut earlier on Sunday.

    Their basketball federation was only formed in 2011, and they beat Puerto Rico 90-79 for their first win at the Games.

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