Andy Murray explains why he prioritised doubles over singles at Tokyo Olympics

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray promised Joe Salisbury he would prioritise doubles over singles at the Tokyo Olympics if there were any physical issues with him. 

Murray, a back-to-back singles champion at the Olympics, gave a walkover to Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Tokyo Olympics first round. 

"When we spoke about playing, I told Joe that if I had any physical issues I'd prioritise doubles over singles and that's why I made the decision," Murray said, per BBC.

"I'd have been annoyed with myself if I'd decided to play with the issue, made it worse, lost my singles and not been able to perform well in the doubles.

"Physically it'll be OK for the rest of the tournament, but I will need to take a break afterwards."

Murray believes he and Salisbury could capture a medal 

Murray and Salisbury kicked off their Tokyo campaign with an impressive 6-3 6-2 win over France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. 

On Tuesday, Murray and Salisbury beat Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-2 7-6 (2) to reach the Tokyo Olympics quarterfinal.

"I think we have the potential to be a really good team, I think the result today showed that," Murray said, per the Daily Express.

"Doubles is always tricky because sometimes the matches can come down to a few points.

"I think we were well deserved winners today, we created lots of chances, but not every doubles match is like that.

"I think if we keep the same sort of attitude and everything, prepare diligently, I think we've got a chance of doing well. But it's not easy, just because we won that match."

Murray and Salisbury got off to a great start to the match, having broken Krawietz and Puetz two times in the first set to easily win the opener. 

As no breaks were seen in the second set -- the set went into a tie-break -- in which Murray and Salisbury realized their first match point to book a straight-set win. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3BMAky1