Andy Murray described crying “happy tears” after he and his men’s doubles partner, Dan Evans, reached the Paris 2024 quarter-finals in dramatic fashion to leave him two wins from adorning his career swansong with an Olympic medal.

The 37-year-old sank into his chair, holding his head in his hands, after Evans put away a volley that secured a 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), (11-9) win over the Belgian pair Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen. They pulled through in a tense final tie-break with their second act of escapology in the space of three days, saving two match points and ensuring a fairytale end to Murray’s life in professional tennis remains in prospect.

“It was unbelievably emotional,” said Murray, who is twice an Olympic singles champion and a three-time grand slam title winner. “You’re unbelievably happy and then for whatever reason, I don’t know why, but happy tears. I was really emotional at the end of the match, extremely happy, excited that we managed to get through another amazing finish.”

The British teammates had saved five match points in Sunday’s first-round match against Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel. Having squandered two of their own this time in a second set they ultimately lost, they were staring down the barrel of a crushing anticlimax when their opponents took a 9-7 lead in the decider. They stood tall again, winning four points in a row and sparking wild celebrations among those who had stayed until almost 10.30pm local time in a sparsely attended Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

“I don’t think he wants to go home, does he?” said Evans of his decorated sidekick. “We’re getting close, really close to doing something pretty special. We played great tonight. People see how good we’ve been in tight moments and we’re getting better and better.”

Murray and Evans will have a day off before facing either the American pair, Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz, or the Dutch partnership of Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer on Thursday. Should they win that tie, they will reach the semi-finals and be guaranteed a further crack at either gold or bronze. A medal of any colour would provide an astounding finale for a player whose resilience is extraordinary.

Murray underwent surgery for a cyst on his back in June but recovered in time to compete this summer. He was unable to make a final appearance at Wimbledon earlier this month after his planned mixed doubles partner, Emma Raducanu, pulled out. The Olympics had always been targeted as his grand farewell, though, and last week he opted out of competing in the singles competition in order to strengthen his chances in the doubles.

It took a tremendous effort from the four players, all in their thirties, to produce such compelling fare in stifling heat that barely abated all evening. The courtside temperature was 31 degrees when Evans opened the serving at 8.23pm, the humidity palpable. Conditions throughout the afternoon had fallen only slightly short of being deemed unsafe for play, sprinklers being deployed in some of the public areas to offer visitors relief from the heat. More than one spectator was seen receiving medical treatment having seemingly felt the effects.

Murray had been unhappy with a rusty performance in that first-round high wire act but both Britons were sharp from the off here, stretching into an early 3-0 lead while finishing the second and third games with a majestic lob apiece. It was enough to see them home in the first set but Gille and Vliegen, an experienced pairing who sit joint 35^th in the ATP men’s doubles ranking, were never going to leave without a fight. A tight second set brought two missed opportunities for Murray and Evans to win and those seemed costly when they were edged out in the tie break.

Then, with the help of a punchy Evans, Murray stood tall as he always has. Is a crescendo on Saturday, when the final takes place, written in the stars? “You can’t have that mentality of ‘this is just going to happen now’,” he said. “You just need to be switched on for the next one.”