Olympics Rewind: Andy Murray’s route to gold in 2012

Nobody has previously managed to win back-to-back gold medals in the Olympic men’s tennis singles, with Andy Murray attempting to be the first in 2016.

The draw has been fairly kind to the Brit in his defence, with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all in the other half of the draw.

Meanwhile, Swiss pair Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka are not taking part.

Positioned at number two among the seeds, the path to gold on Rio’s hard courts certainly seems a lot easier than four years ago, when Murray was ranked as third seed.

Here is a rewind to jog the memory as to how Murray manoeuvred his way to gold on the grass of London:

Round 1: 6-3, 6-3 Wawrinka

Three weeks after losing the Wimbledon final to Federer, Murray returned to the same court and eased through a tricky match in which he faced only two break points throughout.

Round 2: 6-2, 6-4 Jarkko Nieminen

Murray broke serve quickly in both sets to triumph in just 61 minutes and maintain a 100% record against the Finn.

Round 3: 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Marcos Baghdatis

Murray had already beaten his Cypriot opponent in the third round at Wimbledon in a match that almost went on until midnight and another thriller was on the cards until Baghdatis fell apart midway through the second set.

Quarter Finals: 6-4, 6-1 Nicolas Almagro

It took less than an hour for Murray to move to the brink of an Olympic medal, with his Spanish opponent folding tamely after receiving treatment for a shoulder injury.

Semi Finals: 7-5, 7-5 Djokovic

A conscious decision to attack the net was justified for Murray in taking the first set, while it was a case of digging in throughout the second.

Djokovic held break points in four Murray service games but couldn’t take one.

Final: 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 Federer

Four weeks after meeting at Wimbledon, these two clashed in another final, with Federer in action after being involved in the longest tennis match in Olympics history.

He beat Del Potro 19-17 in a deciding set in his semi, which took over four hours to complete.

Murray was not to be denied in collecting a first career victory in a five-set match over the Swiss maestro, denying Federer the one accolade absent on his CV. In the middle section Murray even won nine games in a row.

Ladbrokes is not an official sponsor of the Olympics and is no way affiliated with any of the competing athletes, events or competitions being held in Rio de Janeiro this summer.