DAN EVANS: We went back to the athletes’ village and burst out laughing…no one could believe that Andy and I had won.

Playing Andy Murray at the Olympics on Sunday was one of the best experiences of my career. Winning in the first round gave us a foot in the door, but the match was crazy.

After the match we took the bus back to the athletes’ village and we burst out laughing. We were laughing because everyone in the stadium was so shocked that we had done it. We were down 9-4 in the tie-break and most people would have thrown in the towel.

Andy is not like most people. He is the best British tennis player of my generation. You can’t write Andy off like you do with most players.

Opponents feel that he is never out of the fight. People see him as an angry presence on the court, but as a partner he is incredibly calm. The confidence he exudes is special. He is very methodical and when he prepares for a point he gives this feeling that everything is under control.

A game like that takes a lot of physical and emotional energy out of you. It’s not something we’ve talked about, but the narrative around his retirement makes it a major event. He’s one of the greatest British athletes of all time and you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have that in mind.

Andy Murray and Dan Evans battle to reach second round of men’s doubles in Paris

Team GB duo on the verge of collapse before returning to Roland Garros

There’s always more media around us when it comes to Andy. Everything is a bit more scrutinised, but that’s what you want as a player. We had a bit of chicken and rice on the pitch, we had some treatment and then we jumped in an ice bath to recover.

After a match like that, the body is full of adrenaline, so it’s hard to fall asleep. I went to the canteen in the athletes’ village for a second meal. They seem to be running out of food there, but I ate some pasta and went to bed around 1:30 in the morning.

In the village, there is always something going on. It is like a makeshift town. There is a supermarket, a beauty salon and everything you could possibly need. I missed the Tokyo Olympics because I got Covid and that made the experience even better.

On the regular tennis circuit, you don’t spend a lot of time with people from other sports. The other day I was sitting in the pavilion talking to the athletes from the trampoline team. We have English TV coverage, so we all got together to watch the British.

Boxing is one of my favorite sports and I went to see Charley Davison in the bantamweight competition on Saturday night. All her friends and family had been invited to watch her and she lost. It was hard to watch because I could see how much it meant to them.

The narrative around Murray’s impending retirement makes it a major event, Evans admitted

Evans lost in singles to Stefano Tsitsipas but the event was not his priority

Four years and nine minutes have passed. Sports can be a tough field at times, but on the other side you see someone having the best day of their life.

Andy and I will be back today and hope to build some momentum.

I lost in the singles yesterday to Stefanos Tsitsipas but that’s not my priority. I thought about retiring after running out of steam earlier in the week but that wouldn’t suit me when I represent Great Britain at the Olympics.

Andy has had a day to recover so that works in our favour and we just want to get going a little bit quicker.

Parties for athletes who have completed the competition sound like fun, but we’re not ready to join them just yet!

I had to cancel the boat parade at the opening ceremony because I had a match the next day. When I saw everyone coming back looking like drowned rats, I knew I had made the right decision!