Sports
ANDY Murray’s bid for an Olympic gold at a third successive Games ended as he and Joe Salisbury lost in the men’s doubles quarter-finals in Tokyo.
The British pair lost 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 10-7 against Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig in the quarter-finals.
Murray, 34, and Salisbury, a doubles specialist who reached a career-high ranking of three last year, were playing their first event together.
Cilic and Dodig face New Zealand’s Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell next.
Murray, who won the singles at London 2012 and Rio 2016, pulled out of the individual event with a minor thigh strain to focus on the doubles.
The three-time Grand Slam singles champion forged an impressive partnership with 29-year-old Salisbury, who won his maiden major doubles title at last year’s Australian Open.
But they could not build on a lead of a set and a break as Cilic and Dodig turned the match around.
The British pair broke serve in the first game of the match, maintaining that advantage as Salisbury clinched the opening set with an instinctive volley on a Murray service game.
Murray and Salisbury broke again for 3-2 in the second set and consolidated the advantage for 4-2, only to lose serve for 4-4 and see their opponents win the tie-break to force a decider.
Momentum stayed with Cilic and Dodig in the first-to-10 match tie-break, with the Croats taking the second of three match points when Salisbury volleyed long.
Who can end Djokovic’s dominance?
In the men’s singles, Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev is through to the quarter-finals after seeing off Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-2 3-6 6-2.
Next up for this year’s Australian Open finalist is Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, who won 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer.
Medvedev, 25, is one of those bidding to end Serbian top seed Novak Djokovic’s hopes of completing a first ‘Golden Slam’ – all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold in a single calendar year – in men’s tennis.
Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this year, faces Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his third-round match later on Wednesday.
Britain’s Liam Broady is also in action later.
Broady, who marked his Olympic debut with a fine win over Wimbledon semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz earlier this week, plays French veteran Jeremy Chardy.
Svitolina showing why she is the woman to beat
Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina was the first player through to the Tokyo singles semi-finals after a 6-4 6-4 win against Italy’s Camila Giorgi.
Svitolina, 26, is the highest-ranked player left in the women’s singles after early exits for Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, Japan’s Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
Czech former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova lies in wait for Svitolina in the last four. The 22-year-old left-hander won the first set against Paula Badosa before the Spaniard withdrew through illness.
BBC Sport
– July 28, 2021 @ 08:28 GMT |
Tags: Tokyo Olympics tennis: Andy Murray & Joe Salisbury out of men's doubles
