RIO DE JANEIRO — Andy Murray put a brighter shine on his finest tennis season by winning his second straight Olympic gold medal in singles on Sunday night, but surely Juan Martin Del Potro deserves something more precious than silver.
It won’t be ranking points or prize money. This Olympic tennis tournament offered neither, but Del Potro gave it his all just the same, providing start-to-finish entertainment and sentimental resonance.
All he lacked was the victorious ending, but Murray refused to cooperate: hustling and scrapping through his own considerable fatigue to win Sunday’s grueling final, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.