Andy Murray and Dan Evans look like a ‘transformed team’ and have a genuine chance of landing an Olympic doubles medal, says Annabel Croft.
The Team GB duo have incredibly saved seven match points over their opening two matches and have earned themselves a spot in the quarter-finals in Paris.
Following wins over Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, as well as Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel, the Brits next face Team USA.
Should Murray and Evans make it three wins on the Roland-Garros clay against Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, they will guarantee themselves a shot of leaving the French capital with an Olympic medal.
It could be the fairytale end to Murray’s incredible career, with the 37-year-old British sporting legend set to hang up his racket once the tournament concludes, but how exactly did the Team GB pair ‘transform’ into genuine medal contenders?
Dan Evans and Andy Murray are the perfect combination of ‘fire and ice’
Dan Evans is known as the more fiery player, while Andy Murray is cooler and more relaxed. It’s a perfect combination – which has made them a lethal force.
‘Fire and ice, that’s all I can say, fire and ice,’ Evans’ long-term friend Hansel Palmer told BBC Radio WM about the differences between the British stars.
Murray, speaking after he and Evans saved five match points to win in the first round, said: ‘I felt pretty calm and played my best at the end [of the match].’
By contrast, after the British pair’s second-round victory, a fired-up Evans ran over to an Olympic camera and loudly screamed ‘VAMOS!’ to celebrate the triumph.
Key improvements on serve and surge in ‘confidence’ after two thrilling wins
‘We deserved to win,’ Andy Murray said after he and Dan Evans won in the second round. ‘In the first round we were lucky – tonight if it had gone the other way it would have been unfortunate. We were playing well and had lots of chances.
‘We played every point and come up with some great returns when we were down in the third set and we served it out really well, but we left it too close to comfort. It was way better than the first match, certainly from my side – there was nerves in the first match and I didn’t serve well at all.
‘Today from my side I was much happier with how I served and we gave them few chances on the return. If we can serve that way and combine like that we will be tough to beat – obviously winning matches like that builds confidence. The opponents will see that as well, that we have been coming back and always there at the end – that helps.’
Andy Murray and Dan Evans ‘gelling’ and have ‘chemistry’
Dan Evans seems to know what Andy Murray needs from him this week – actively taking the lead on points when necessary – and showing up in the big moments.
Evans and Murray are long standing friends and know each other extremely well on and off the court.
‘Absolutely jaw-dropping from Andy Murray and Dan Evans again,’ former British No.1 Annabel Croft told the BBC after the British pair reached the last eight. ‘I literally cannot believe what we have seen. The drama that we have seen, the rollercoaster we have been on during that match, two hours and four minutes.
‘A slow burner that just got better and better and better. It just sums up Andy Murray and what he has done in his career. We are seeing quite a lot of emotion from him now they have shook hands.
‘I think anything is possible at this stage. It is a possibility for Andy Murray and Dan Evans to get a medal.Murray is playing way better tennis than we saw at Wimbledon, even in the first round they looked like a transformed team today.
‘The pair of them look energised, like they are gelling together, they have chemistry out there and they are just loving it.’
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz crash out of doubles
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz’s Olympics doubles run has come to a dramatic end after they suffered elimination to Team USA on Wednesday.
The Spanish dream team were beaten 6-2 6-4 by Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek at Roland-Garros and are now fully out of medal contention.
Nadal, almost certainly to be playing his last Olympics at the age of 38, crashed out in singles to Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament.
Andy Murray looking to land fourth Olympic medal
Andy Murray has already got three Olympic medals in his locker – two golds and one silver.
The golds were clinched in singles at London 2012 and Rio 2016, while the silver came in mixed doubles next to Laura Robson 12 years ago.
News of Nadal and Alcaraz’s doubles exit is surely a boost to Murray and Evans’ hopes of clinching a medal.
The Team GB duo will need to win two more matches before they can start planning for a possible gold medal showdown, though.
If they can only record one more win at Roland-Garros – and then lose in the semi-finals – they will take part in the bronze medal match instead.