- Dan Evans and Andy Murray fought back to keep their Olympic dreams alive
Playing Andy Murray at the Olympics on Sunday was one of the best experiences of my career. Winning in the first round gave us a foothold in the competition, but the match was crazy.
After the match we took the bus back to the Olympic Village and we laughed our heads off. We laughed because everyone in the stadium was so surprised that we had done it. We were losing 9-4 in the tie-break and most people would have thrown in the towel.
But Andy is not like most people. He is the best British tennis player of my generation. You can’t just finish Andy off like you can with most players.
Opponents feel like he is never out of the fight. People see him as an angry presence on the court, but as a teammate he is incredibly calm. The confidence he exudes is special. He is very methodical and when he prepares for a point he gives the feeling that everything is under control.
A game like that takes a lot of physical and emotional energy out of you. It’s not something we’ve discussed, but the history surrounding his retirement makes it very important. He’s one of the greatest British athletes of all time and you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t keep that in mind.
Andy Murray and Dan Evans came from behind to reach the second round of the men’s doubles in Paris
The Team GB duo nearly crashed out of the tournament before recovering at Roland Garros.
There’s always more media when it comes to Andy. Everything is under a bit more scrutiny, but that’s what you want as a player. We had some chicken and rice on the pitch, got some treatment and then got into an ice bath to recover.
After a game like that, your body is full of adrenaline and it’s hard to sleep. I went to the Olympic Village dining room to eat a second round. It seems like they run out of provisions there, but I had some pasta and went to bed around 1:30.
There is always something to do in the village. It is like an improvised village. There is a supermarket, a beauty salon and everything you could wish for. I missed the Tokyo Olympics because I got Covid and that has made this experience even more enjoyable.
On the regular tennis circuit, you don’t spend too much time with people from other sports. The other day I was sitting in the hall talking to athletes from the trampoline team. We have English television coverage, so we all get together to watch the Brits.
Boxing is one of my favourite sports and on Saturday night I went to see Charley Davison in the bantamweight competition. All of her friends and family had been invited to watch her and she lost. It was hard to watch because I could see how much she meant to them.
The narrative around Murray’s impending retirement makes it a big problem, Evans admitted
Evans lost in singles to Stefano Tsitsipas, but the event had not been his priority.
Four years and it was all over in nine minutes. Sport can be a tough place at times, but on the other side you see someone who is having the best day of their life.
Andy and I are going out again today and hoping to gain momentum.
I lost in singles yesterday to Stefanos Tsitsipas, but that hasn’t been my priority. I thought about retiring after running out of steam earlier in the week, but that wouldn’t be right when I’m representing Great Britain at the Olympics.
Andy has had a day to recover, so that plays in our favour and we just want to start a bit faster.
Parties for athletes who have finished competing sound like fun, but we’re not ready to join in just yet!
I had to give up participating in the boat parade at the opening ceremony because I had a game the next day. When I saw everyone coming back with faces like drowned rats, I realized I had made the right decision.
