Andy Murray admitted he was emotional after entering the history books by becoming the first player to win two Olympic gold medals in singles.

The Scot had to fight to defeat Juan Martin del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a gruelling four-hour encounter in Rio de Janeiro, a match he described as one of the hardest of his career.

In front of a raucous Rio crowd, the Wimbledon champion had to fend off a spirited and powerful display from the resurgent Argentinian, who has battled back from numerous injury problems over the years.

Speaking about his latest achievement, 29-year-old Murray said: "It means a lot, getting to carry the flag at the opening ceremony was an amazing experience and I was very honoured. I found that quite emotional.

"I had to regroup and get my mind on the matches so, to finish it with a match like that, obviously I was fairly emotional at the end. It's been a build-up of emotions over the last 10 days and (I'm) just very happy that I got over the line tonight.

"It was one of the hardest matches I've had to play for a big title. The US Open I played with Novak to win my first slam was very hard but tonight I found really difficult emotionally.

"Physically it was hard, there were so many ups and downs in the match."

The celebrations were short lived for Murray though as he joined Rafael Nadal on a private jet to Miami after the match, ahead of next week's Masters tournament in Cincinnati.

Before heading to the USA, the world number two had time to pay tribute to his opponent, saying: "He's done amazing to get back to playing and competing at this level again after all of the issues that he's had with his wrists.

"Mentally I can only imagine how frustrating that must have been to keep going through the same problem and having to try and come back. He deserves a lot of credit and he should be very proud."