Andy Murray says he and Dan Evans need to start fast and recreate the level they showed when five match points down in their opening-round match to continue their Olympic dream in Paris.
The two-time Olympic champion looked set for a limp end to his professional career when trailing 9-4 to Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel in the deciding tiebreak of their doubles match on Sunday night.
But he and Evans produced their best tennis of the match to seal an unlikely win and stretch his professional career into another day.
The British pair are the fourth match on Suzanne Lenglen court, expected to start from about 4pm BST on Tuesday, against Belgian duo Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.
Murray said: “At the end of the match, I was jumping around so happy but, as we were getting back, I felt pretty calm and played my best at the end. When it mattered, I raised my level and I need to try to find a way of starting the [second-round] match like that.
“When it clicks for us, we have the potential to play really well together because our games complement each other really well.
“Certainly from my side, I didn’t think I was playing well [in the opening match]. Evo played well at times but, for both of us, we can play much better than that.”
Both players said they had never clawed their way back from five match points before in their careers and Evans jokingly threatened to walk off court if Murray put him in that position again.
Despite it being a first-round match, Evans described it as a career highlight but said he was far from done with the Olympics.
“It’s something I’ll remember forever,” he said, “but it would be amazing if we could go on to do something really special this week. Let’s not make it one match, let’s make it another and see how we go.”
If they win that, they likely face the formidable obstacle of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals.
Fritz was the obstacle for another British player in the singles in the opening match on the same court against British No1 Jack Draper.
Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu, who opted to miss the Olympics because of the risk to her body of going from grass to clay so abruptly, returned to winning ways in her first match since Wimbledon.
In a see-saw encounter, she saw off No8 seed Elise Mertens 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to move into the second round of the Citi Open in Washington.
Following that win, she said: “I was playing some pretty good tennis in patches throughout especially in the first set and moments in the third set.
“I lost some focus in the second. It’s not easy playing at 11.30. I got here Thursday night so I’m still jetlagged. But I was telling myself, ‘I’m not leaving, this is not happening, you’re not losing this match’.”
