Olympic heartbreak for Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury: British pair’s remarkable run comes to an end after late collapse costs them against Croatian pair Ivan Dodig and Marin Cilic
Andy Murray’s bid for a fourth Olympic medal ended with a painful defeat in the men’s doubles alongside Joe Salisbury in the quarter-finals in Tokyo.
The pair had raised expectations with two fine performances to make the last eight and led Croatian duo Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig by a set and a break.
They had a point to make it 5-2 but Cilic and Dodig stepped up their level, broke the Murray serve and prevailed in a deciding tie-break to win 4-6 7-6 (2) 10-7.
Andy Murray’s hopes of adding to his haul of three Olympic medals is over in Tokyo
It is they who are now guaranteed to play for a medal, and the disappointment for Murray and Salisbury was obvious.
‘It’s always tough when you lose matches but especially here, a chance of getting to the semi-finals and a chance of winning a medal,’ said Salisbury. ‘And the situation we were in, we were a set and a break up and we were playing well, so it’s very tough.’
Murray is the only tennis player ever to win successive gold medals, and he also has a silver in the mixed doubles with Laura Robson from London.
Murray and Joe Salisbury’s late collapse saw them dumped out in the quarter-finals in Tokyo
Given his ongoing struggles to stay fit, which included pulling out of the singles here with a thigh strain, it seems highly unlikely he will compete at a fifth Games in Paris in three years’ time.
‘I don’t know if I’ll get the opportunity to play again,’ he said. ‘I’ve loved every minute of playing in the Olympics. I wish that today could have gone differently.
‘I had another chance with Joe to win a medal, we were so close, and that’s what’s disappointing. I would like to have done some stuff differently in the match to try to help out more.’
Murray looks dejected as he leaves the court after his Olympics came to end
Murray will now head home for more rest and recovery but is hopeful of being fit for the US Open, starting on August 30.
He said: ‘I’ll see how the injury heals. That’s what will dictate it. I’m not going to rush something if it’s not there.
‘My team think I should be OK to play the US Open judging by how I felt in matches here. It’s not as physical as singles but there’s a lot of explosive movements and my leg felt fine.’
Croatia’s pair Ivan Dodig and Marin Cilic progress to the semi-final after battling back to win
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