This is a man who has already peaked at least three times in 2016, reaching the finals of each of the grand slams and lifting the Wimbledon crown. Murray then took to his chair and heaved huge sobs into his towel, while del Potro did not bother to hide his tears, his face by now turning puce with exhaustion and emotion.Įven amid the all-round mastery of Team GB, Murray stands out from the Stella McCartney-clad crowd. You could tell, at that moment, that he was fully locked onto his target.Īfter the match had ended via a netted backhand from Del Potro – probably the most common conclusion to these 269 breathless rallies – both men met at the net in a damp and emotional embrace. There were seven breaks of serve in the 12 games and one extraordinary statement point from Murray which saw both men cover all 2,800 square feet before he finally came up with a winning pass, leaving Del Potro bent double over the net. Four points before the end, one over-zealous Argentine supporter in a blue-and-white jester’s hat had to be escorted out of the arena by soldiers, prompting pantomime booing as he held his arms up in mock triumph. A nearly-full stadium created a derby-day atmosphere, complete with scores of flags. But by playing an Argentine in the Olympic final he collected some of the most passionate support that he can ever have experienced overseas. Murray has never been an honorary Brazilian before. But this was one of the best atmospheres, and most committed crowds, of the whole Games. The Olympic Tennis Stadium should have been renamed the Sweatbox, so badly were both players struggling in the humid conditions. It was another example of Murray’s MacGyver-like ability to find solutions on the hoof, which has dug him out of so many awkward spots in the past. Meanwhile, the match was turning into a battle of brains as well as stamina as Murray tried to avoid Del Potro’s earth-shaking forehand – which stands unrivalled as the most powerful groundstroke in the game – and locate his less lethal backhand instead.Īt one stage in the fourth set we entered a parallel universe where Del Potro was dinking the ball back with backspin off both wings as Murray moved him around with chess-like slices of his own. But each time he bolted down an energy gel at a changeover, he found another burst of inspiration. The match was only around 30 minutes old when Del Potro started puffing hard, and going on little walkabouts between points.
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