Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury have been eliminated from the Olympic tennis tournament. Novak Djokovic is now in the final, which will be played against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The when will the olympics be is a question that has been asked for years. Andy Murray & Joe Salisbury have both been out of the tournament due to injury, leaving Novak Djokovic as the only remaining player in the men’s singles competition.
| Dates: July 23rd to August 8th, Tokyo time: BST +8 |
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Andy Murray’s quest for a third consecutive Olympic gold was thwarted when he and Joe Salisbury lost in the men’s doubles quarter-finals in Tokyo.
In the quarter-finals, the British duo fell 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 10-7 against Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig.
Murray, 34, was competing in his debut tournament with Salisbury, a doubles specialist who achieved a career-high ranking of three last year.
After losing in singles, Liam Broady was the last Briton to fall.
After Dan Evans tested positive for coronavirus, the 27-year-old was called up late to the British team and won his first two matches, including a superb victory against Wimbledon semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.
In sweltering circumstances at the Ariake Tennis Centre, however, defeating France’s Jeremy Chardy proved to be a step too much, as he fell 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-1.
Serbia’s world number one Novak Djokovic also advanced to the quarter-finals, praising the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) decision to shift the start of play from Thursday to 3 p.m. local time.
With matches starting at 11 a.m., Djokovic was among the players who complained about the oppressive heat and humidity.
In his victory against Italian Fabio Fognini, Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev struggled with the circumstances.
On two more times, the 25-year-old took a medical break on the court and summoned the trainer, and chair umpire Carlos Ramos questioned Medvedev if he was well during the second set.
“I’m perfectly well. I have the ability to complete the game, but I also have the ability to die. Will the ITF be held accountable if I die?” Medvedev responded with a yes.
Murray laments his loss, and his Olympic prospects remain uncertain.
Murray, the Olympic singles champion in London 2012 and Rio 2016, withdrew from the solo event due to a slight thigh injury in order to concentrate on the doubles.
The three-time Grand Slam singles winner teamed up with 29-year-old Salisbury, who won his first major doubles championship at the Australian Open last year.
However, they were unable to capitalize on a one-set and break advantage as Cilic and Dodig turned the match around.
“I’m not sure whether I’ll have another chance to play,” Murray remarked. “Playing at the Olympics has been a dream come true for me.” I wish things had gone differently today.
“I had another opportunity to win a medal with Joe. It’s frustrating since we were so close. I wish I could go back in time and do things differently in the match to attempt to assist out more. Very dissatisfied.”
Salisbury won the first set with an instinctive volley on a Murray serving game after the British duo broke serve in the first game of the match.
In the second set, Murray and Salisbury broke for 3-2 and extended their lead to 4-2, only to drop serve at 4-4 and see their opponents win the tie-break to force a decider.
In the first-to-10 match tie-break, Cilic and Dodig maintained their lead, with the Croats earning the second of three match points after Salisbury volleyed long.
Who will be able to challenge Djokovic’s dominance?
Djokovic is attempting to repeat Steffi Graf’s 1988 achievement of winning all four Grand Slams as well as Olympic gold in a same calendar year.
Djokovic is attempting to repeat Steffi Graf’s 1988 achievement of winning all four Grand Slams as well as Olympic gold in a same calendar year.Who will be able to stop Djokovic from becoming the first player to complete a ‘Golden Slam’ is one of the major concerns in tennis circles.
Serbia’s Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon this year, advanced to the Olympic men’s singles quarterfinals with a 6-3 6-1 victory against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Despite his struggles with the heat, Russian second seed Medvedev is one of those hoping to destroy Djokovic’s dreams and is also through to the last eight after defeating Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-2 3-6 6-2.
The next opponent for this year’s Australian Open finalist is Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, who defeated Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 7-6 (9-7) 6-3.
Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed from Germany, defeated Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4 7-6 (7-5) and will play Chardy in the quarterfinals.
However, third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece is out after losing to Ugo Humbert of France 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.
Medvedev has finished second in two Grand Slam finals, the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open.
Svitolina demonstrates why she is the one to beat.
Elina Svitolina, the fourth seed from Ukraine, became the first woman to reach the Tokyo singles semi-finals with a 6-4 6-4 victory against Camila Giorgi of Italy.
After the early departures of Ashleigh Barty of Australia, Naomi Osaka of Japan, and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, Svitolina, 26, is the highest-ranked player remaining in the women’s singles.
Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, a previous finalist at the French Open, awaits Svitolina in the last four. The 22-year-old left-hander defeated Paula Badosa in the opening set before the Spaniard withdrew due to sickness.
Belinda Bencic of Switzerland defeated Anastasia Pavlychenkova of Russia 6-0 3-6 6-3 and will play Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who defeated two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza of Spain.
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