Andy Murray is the ultimate Olympic crowd pleaser as Dan Evans reveals what Paris swansong REALLY means

Few people will know what this Paris swan song REALLY means to Andy Murray better than Dan Evans.

While we all see the first pumps, the roars and the occasional curse from afar it’s his doubles partner who shares the emotional moments in the locker room before and after taking to the court in their bid to stretch the icon’s career out another day or two at least.

What the duo produced in Sunday’s epic first-round victory over Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel was just another chapter in Murray’s bulging book of lion-hearted fightbacks. Saving five match points in a tie-break is almost unheard of at this level of tennis. But Evans knows never to write off his pal – even if the reality that he is very close to hitting the last shot of a storied 19-year career has left the Scot a bit quieter than normal at times off the court.

It looked very much like the end had arrived at Roland Garros on Sunday when the Japanese duo romped to a 6-2 first-set lead. Murray was flat, Evans too. The half-filled Suzanne Lenglen Court was flatter than a French crepe. It’s not how anyone had imagined Murray’s final act.

But as if woken by the realisation this wasn’t how it was meant to be, Murray suddenly flicked the switch in the second set. A couple of rasping forehand winners brought the fist pumps and the roar back to the fore and electrified the Union Jack contingent in the stands.

Nobody can pump-up a British tennis crowd better than Murray. And Evans insists those moments were crucial as the duo powered to the remarkable deciding-set breaker where they fought back from 9-4 down to snatch an incredible 11-9 victory.

That’s set up today’s second round clash with French eighth seeds Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert OR Belgium’s Sander Gille and