Laura Robson reveals Andy Murray’s niche collection obsession at the Paris Olympics

Andy Murray is clearly relishing his last ever appearance at an Olympic Games and the Team GB star put his retirement plans on hold with a stunning opening-round win in the doubles competition alongside Dan Evans on Sunday.

The 37-year-old announced last week that this summer’s Games in Paris would be his swansong showing before he hangs up his racket.

Murray had also been expected to compete in the single’s tournament, but made the decision to concentrate solely on the men’s doubles, and the veteran Brit produced a sensational performance at Roland-Garros to keep his career alive.

After saving five match points, Murray and Evans booked their spot in the second round with an epic 2-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9 victory over Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel.

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Murray later described the incredible comeback win as one of the greatest recoveries of his career.

‘It’s probably up there. Pro­bably the way that we were playing to that stage would have not suggested that we were likely to come back,’ the legendary Scot said shortly after the thriller.

‘I certainly didn’t feel like I was playing well. Evo played well at times but for both of us we can play much better than that. And then it just all clicked at the end and we played some pretty, pretty good stuff.’

This summer, Murray is targeting a fourth Olympic medal – but it appears it’s not just medals the Scot is chasing in the French capital.

Speaking on Eurosport, Laura Robson – who won silver alongside Murray at London 2012 – lifted the lid on the two-time Wimbledon champion’s niche obsession for collecting Olympic pin badges from other competitors at the Games.

‘He’s taking it very seriously. He didn’t do it in 2012 but then followed it up at Rio and Tokyo, he went hard,’ Robson explained.

‘In the athlete’s village, he’s trying to find the most niche country, the smallest country.’

Robson revealed that Murray had managed to track down Romano Puentener, Liechtenstein’s sole representative at the Games, for the country’s official Olympic pin badge.

‘His one for this week was a guy… there’s one athlete from Liechtenstein and he was searching the village, high and low, to try and find this poor man,’ Robson added.

‘He tracked him down, he’s got it, and it was like he had won the Olympic gold. Honestly, he came in and was showing everyone, “Look what I’ve got!”.

‘It’s a bit unfair in a way because it is a competition and because he’s Andy Murray, everyone wants to give him a pin. He’s got an unfair [advantage], it’s a little unfair!’

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