Andy Murray and Dan Evans produced a sensational comeback to save five match points and claim a dramatic first-round victory in the men’s doubles.
Murray previously announced he would retire from tennis after the conclusion of this year’s Games, with the Scot withdrawing from singles competition to focus on doubles events.
The Team GB duo face Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori in the opening round on Saturday, with the Japanese pair winning seven consecutive games to take the set and break advantage at Roland Garros.
Murray and Evans brilliantly battled back from 4-2 down in the second set to force a tie-break, which they won 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese seemed certain to victory in the deciding tie-break when they went 9-4 up in the race to 10.
Team GB survived five match points to level the deciding set in the final, before winning the next two to claim a 2-6 7-6 (5) 11-9 victory and comfortably book their place in the second round.
More to follow…
How about other Brits?
Earlier in the day, Evans started his singles campaign by beating Moez Echargui 6-2 4-6 6-2.
The 34-year-old is still struggling with a knee injury suffered at the Queen’s Club last month and suffered severe pain during the match against the Tunisian number 384 Echargui, which required a visit from the trainer to have the grazed knee patched up.
Jack Draper easily won 6-1 6-4 against Nishikori to reach the second round, while compatriot Cameron Norrie withdrew with a left arm injury.
Katie Boulter, England’s sole representative in the women’s singles, suffered an early exit after losing 6-4 6-2 to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Nadal made it Djokovic’s match
Rafael Nadal will face Novak Djokovic in his second round Olympic match at Roland Garros after defeating Marton Fucsovics.
The two most successful men’s players of all time have played each other 59 times before, with Djokovic leading by one, but not since the Spaniard’s quarter-final win at the French Open two years ago.
Now they will meet on the same stage and for the second time at the Olympics, 16 years after Nadal defeated a close contest in the semi-finals in Beijing.
Nadal had been considering whether to play in the match after concerns about a right thigh problem and ended up in a doubles match with Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday night, but stormed to a 6-1 4-6 6-4 win. against the Hungarian Fucsovics.
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