Just a short while after winning the men’s singles tennis gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, Andy Murray was back in action at Wimbledon, going for a second gold in the mixed doubles final. Murray and Laura Robson faced off against the Belarus mixed doubles team of Max Mirnyi and top women’s singles player Victoria Azarenka. Murray would have to settle for winning one gold medal in front of his countrymen as Belarus prevailed in the final tennis event at the Summer Games.
Andy Murray Unable To Pull Off Back-to-Back Gold As Belarus Wins Tennis Mixed Doubles Final
Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
Murray and Robson had little trouble taking the first set, winning 6-2. In the second set, however, the Great Britain players began to struggle, most notably Robson, who continued to send plenty of returns well wide and out of bounds. Belarus claimed the second set 6-3, sending the match to a gold medal tiebreak.
The tiebreak required points wins to 10 and required a win by two points. The two teams kept pace with one another admirably and the race was on to see who would falter first. Ultimately, it was Great Britain who stumbled as Belarus went ahead 7-6, then 8-6. Another wide return from Robson gave Belarus a 9-6 edge. Murray and Robson scratched back to force a third gold medal point, but Belarus claimed the win and the gold medal by winning the tiebreak 10-8.
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