"Told Joe Salisbury I'd prioritise doubles over singles if I had physical issues" - Andy Murray on decision to withdraw from singles in Tokyo

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray and partner Joe Salisbury defeated Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-2, 7-6(2) on Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the men's doubles event at the Tokyo Olympics. The British pair will meet unseeded Croatians Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig for a spot in the last four.

Tuesday's match was Murray's first since his withdrawal from the men's singles event on Sunday. After winning his first-round match in doubles on Saturday, the three-time Grand Slam champion said he had an issue with his quad muscle which led his medical team to advise him to focus on only one event.

While many others in his place might have chosen to prioritize singles, the Brit decided to focus on the doubles with Salisbury. Speaking to the media, Murray revealed that he had promised Salisbury he would prioritize doubles over singles in the event of an injury in Tokyo, which is ultimately what happened.

"I said to Joe that if he picked me to play doubles with him then I’d prioritise the doubles over the singles if I had any physical issues and that was the case,” Murray stated.

“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 has been sidelined on more than one occasion since his return to the tour following multiple hip surgeries. He sustained a pelvic injury at the end of 2019 and was also struck down by COVID-19 at the start of the year, which forced him to miss this year's Australian Open.

"All the focus and energy goes towards doubles" - Andy Murray

Andy Murray at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo, Japan

During the media interaction, Andy Murray revealed that while the injury was not serious, it was enough to warrant him to focus on just one event in Tokyo.

"I’ve had a bit of an issue with my quad. It’s actually not really been causing me many issues on the court like in practice or anything, there was just some stuff showing on the scans that made all the medical team a bit wary about it," he said.

Unsurprisingly, Murray was disappointed at missing out on the chance to defend his Olympic gold in singles. But the 34-year-old Brit is now focusing on chasing a medal in doubles.

"It’s disappointing because I do feel like I’ve been playing well, and I’ve loved the Olympics and I would’ve liked the opportunity to defend my title," he said. "But that wasn’t to be and now all the focus and energy goes towards the doubles and to try our best to get a medal there.”