Andy Murray says he is proud of his double's comeback with Dan Evans after admitting it was a new career experience having to save five match points.
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.
Emotional Peaty has 'already won' despite missing out on historic third Olympic gold
An emotional Adam Peaty says "in his heart, he's already won" despite narrowly missing out on a historic third consecutive 100m breaststroke gold medal.
Peaty was bidding to become just the second man after Michael Phelps to win the same swimming event at three consecutive Olympics.
However, he had to settle for a tie for silver with America's Nic Fink, after Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi snatched a shock win by beating them to the wall by 0.02 seconds.
Peaty recently took a break from the sport to cope with mental health struggles, which came to a head when he broke his foot in 2022, ending his eight-year dominance over 100m.
Having made his comeback with a bronze at this year's World Championships, a tearful Peaty explained why he was not disappointed about falling short of the top prize.
"It's been a very long way back. I look at the score there, you never think in your wildest dreams it would be 59 [seconds] to win it," he told the BBC.
"I gave my absolute all and executed it as well as I could. It's not about the end goal, it's all about the process. It doesn't matter what the end time says on the board, in my heart, I've already won.
"I'm not crying because I came second, I'm crying because it took so much to get here. It's incredibly hard to win it once, and to win it again, and again and trying to find new ways to do it.
"Everything I have done to this point has happened for a reason. I'm so happy I can race the best in the world and get joint second.
"In my heart, I've won. These are happy tears. I said to myself to give my absolute best every single day and I have. You cannot be upset about that."
Peaty will have another chance to go for gold in Paris when he competes in the 4x100m relay.
Canada put off-field controversies aside to stun hosts France at Olympics
Vanessa Gilles scored a 112th-minute winner as Canada put their off-field issues aside to beat hosts France 2-1 at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
After being found guilty of using a drone to film opponents' training at this and past tournaments, the Tokyo champions had six points deducted, while head coach Bev Priestman has been banned from all football-related activity for one year.
The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) are considering an appeal against the decision, but those controversies were put to one side when the team took to the field.
Starting the day bottom on -3 points, Canada, led by Andy Spence, had to come from behind to beat France after Marie-Antoinette Katoto put Les Bleues ahead just before half-time.
Jessie Fleming equalised from close range in the 58th minute, but Canada fought back, with Gilles getting some help from the woodwork to secure the win.
Meanwhile, Colombia's comfortable 2-0 victory over New Zealand means they now lead Group A after two games thanks to their goal difference.
Elsewhere, in Group C, Spain booked their place in the quarter-finals with a game to spare after a 1-0 win over Nigeria.
Alexia Putellas' long-range strike maintained La Roja's perfect start to the tournament as they bid to become the first team to win Olympic gold after lifting the Women's World Cup.
In the other group game, Japan ruined the party for Marta, who made her 200th appearance for Brazil in a shock 2-1 defeat.
Despite Mina Tanaka's penalty miss in the first half, Japan launched a comeback after Jheniffer's opener, with Saki Kumagai and Momoko Tanikawa both scoring in stoppage time to move second.
The game of the day came in Group B though, as Australia edged out Zambia in an 11-goal thriller.
Barbra Banda's hat-trick gave the minnows a 5-2 lead, but they could not hold onto it as Michelle Heyman made it 6-5 in the 90th minute to snatch a win.
Murray and Evans through after thrilling first-round comeback
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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