Andy Murray has postponed his retirement as British tennis superstar Dan Evans saved five games to win the Olympic doubles in an incredible move.

Murray, 37, confirmed last week that the Paris Olympics would be his final competition before retiring from the sport he loves. His legendary career appeared to be coming to an end but the British duo made a strong comeback to beat Japan’s Daniel Taro and Kei Nishikori 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 11-9.

“There was no indication at that stage that we were going to come back like we did,” Murray said. “I think I didn’t play well from my perspective, of course, Evo plays well at times but we can both play better. “It’s finally done.” When Daniel secured Britain’s first match, Murray and Evans stared in amazement.

They were 9-4 down in the tie-break when defeat seemed inevitable, and the subsequent comeback made Murray and Evans almost as good as anyone, Evans turned to his friends and jumped up beside them, who hugged them heartily.

Even Murray’s mother, Jodie, who was watching from the office as she had done throughout her career, almost denied it. “I’m trying to think about which plane I’m going to get home on tonight,” he told BBC Sport. “But you can’t explain it.” Murray and Evans still don’t know who they will face in the second round.

French eighth seeds Arthur Fels and Ugo Humbert will take on Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen for the right to play England on Monday.

The fifth Olympic appearance is the latest leg of Murray’s arduous journey to becoming a three-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 1. He is the only tennis player to win two Olympic singles titles, having won back-to-back golds at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Paris in 2024 seems like the right place to end his career, but as Murray has long admitted, there is no “perfect ending” for a tennis player.

Winning another Olympic medal for the first time at the age of 34 with Evans would be the ultimate achievement. The chances looked slim after Murray and Evans lost their opening match against their Japanese opponents. The two British partners have not been doing well this year and both have been struggling with injuries.

Murray underwent surgery to remove a cyst from his back just six weeks ago, the latest in a series of physical problems that have plagued him in recent years. In fact, it is important that he continues to play these matches given his health issues. He had thought he would have to retire in 2019 due to a hip injury; he famously broke down in tears as he shared his fears at the Australian Open.

Murray not only returned to the tournament with a helmet on, he also won the ATP trophy and has a string of high-profile Grand Slam wins. Before Sunday, Evans was also fearing the worst.

He lost his singles victory against Tunisian Moez Echargui and initially feared he would do enough damage to rule him out of Murray’s farewell match. Fortunately, those fears were not realized and Roland Garros gave us another unforgettable night in Murray’s career.

Murray, who has won five matches per match from both teams in history, said: “I’ve been in many matches throughout my career that it looked like I couldn’t win or that people thought I shouldn’t win.” “I actually have the courage and the strength that was sometimes questioned early in my career.

I’m happy about that. I don’t do it alone. “Evo played a big part in that. He helped me a lot today.” Episode How the suspicious attack unfolded Episode Neither Murray nor Evans made such an attack. When Daniel hit five match points with his forehand and thundered to the court on one knee, no one on the court could have predicted what would happen next.

The Englishman gradually changed the situation as follows: 5-9: Murray sent a group out of bounds, allowing Daniel to reach it. 6-9: Murray’s second serve goes considerably longer than Nishikori’s, and Nishikori doubles over in disgust. 7-9: Kei Nishikori makes two errors. 8-9: After a brief exchange, Kei Nishikori slides forward and hits a low shot into the net. 9-9: Evans returns serve and hits a forehand winner to equalise. 10-9: After a change of ends, Evans’ serve is returned by Kei Nishikori, who bounces Evans on the run. 11-9 – England win: Murray hits a forehand, Daniel concedes but still scores.

This shows the chaos of thousands of British soldiers in the stadium. The British pair dug themselves out of deep French soil. “Of course I was jumping and happy at the end of the game, but when we came back I was really happy and I did the best I could at the end,” Murray said.