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3 months ago
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Andy Murray and Dan Evans are through to the quarter-final of the men's tennis doubles at the Paris Olympics after beating Belgian duo Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in two sets.
The British duo saved match points again to win a thrilling match tie-break against the Belgian pair, extending Murray's legendary career by doing so.
The Team GB stars flew through the first set as they dominated the opening exchanges, winning 6-3 to give themselves a foothold in the encounter.
Their Belgian opponents fought back strongly in the second, taking the game to a tie-break.
The Brits looked to be heading on their way out with the score 8-6 to Belgium in the tie-break, with their opponents needing just two more points to win. However, Murray and Evans responded valiantly to walk away with a 11-9 victory.
Andy Murray and Dan Evans have reached the quarter-finals of the men's doubles in Paris
The British duo had to save two match points to beat their Belgian opponents in a match tie-break
The pair looked to be on their way out, before they kept themselves in the competition
Murray pumps his fist during a thrilling doubles' encounter at Roland Garros on Tuesday night
After a dominant first set, the second wasn't as straightforward with Gille and Vliegen clawing back and looking in a strong position to level the match, only for Evans' individual close-net brilliance to level the set.
The remainder of the second set was played out with neither player refusing to budge as proceedings were pushed to a tie-break, Murray and Evans seeking to win the match, their Belgian opponents trying to stay in it.
Two wasted points saw Belgium pull themselves back level at 7-7, only for Evans to again put himself and Murray on the verge of victory.
After the drama of Sunday's five-match-point-saving comeback to defeat Japanese duo Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori, it appeared this would be slightly less nail-biting.
The chance again though went begging as the Belgian pair - to their credit - fought back from the death to keep their Olympic journey alive
Murray and Evans were ruthless in the first-set which they won 6-3 against their opponents
However, frustration kicked in as their Belgian opponents started to get back into the match
The Belgian duo took the game all the way to a match tie-break only to narrowly miss out
Murray signs autographs for fans after taking another dramatic victory in the men's doubles
It was more of the same in the match tie-break, with Murray and Evans having to save two match points on their way to victory.
Murray has already confirmed that he will retire from tennis after the Paris Olympics and now they are just one match away from reaching the semi-finals.
They will go onto play either American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, or Dutch duo Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer.
English (US)