Andy Murray says he is desperate to join Team GB’s Olympic medal rush again as he dispelled concerns about his fitness after reaching the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles in Tokyo.
Murray and partner Joe Salisbury overcame Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-2 7-6 (7-2) at the Ariake Tennis Centre to continue their perfect start to life as a pairing after a stunning first round victory over French Open champions Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Hubert in their first ever match together.
Following that success, Murray, who has battled a multitude of injury problems in recent years, withdrew from the defence of his men’s singles title on medical grounds but he was back in action on Tuesday and revealed he had promised Salisbury ahead of the Games that he would put their campaign first.
“When we spoke about playing, I told Joe that if I had any physical issues I’d prioritise doubles over the singles and that’s why I made the decision,” Murray said.
“I would’ve been annoyed with myself if I’d taken the decision to play with the issue I had, made it worse, lost my singles and then not been able to perform well in the doubles. I think physically, I’ll be okay for the rest of the tournament, I’ll just need to take a break afterwards.”
Murray is seeking a third Olympic title after winning the singles in both London and Rio, where his gold medals were part of remarkable hauls for Team GB. After three golds on Monday, and a fourth for Tom Dean in the pool on Tuesday morning, Britain have already made a better start than they did in either of those Games and Murray wants to play his part once more.
“It was a really good day yesterday,” Murray said. “Obviously, it was nice to see Tom Daley winning and Adam Peaty, another amazing performance from him. It’s been great and hopefully we can be part of that.”
