JAMIE Murray and his Aussie partner John Peers got their ATP Tour finals campaign off to the perfect start with a 7-5 (5), 3-6, 11-9 victory against Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini. Murray and Peers, who will go their separate ways after this event, with Murray having committed to playing 2016 with Brazilian Bruno Soares, were first up at the glitzy season-ending showcase on the banks of the Thames, and a decent crowd made it to the venue to see the Scottish/Australian pairing prevail in a Champions tie-breaker.
This was a maiden appearance in the tour finals for Jamie, who has been travelling to the venue by tube instead of the private boat along the Thames which all players are entitled to take, with he and his brother Andy becoming the first brothers to qualify for the World Tour Finals in singles and doubles in the same year since John and Patrick McEnroe in 1989, when they were still two separate tournaments. Murray and Peers, who reached more finals than any other team on the tour this season, shaded the first set but were unable to make the breakthrough until their Italian opponents succumbed in the breaker 7-5.
The Italians, both accomplished singles players in their own right, recovered their poise in the second set, racing into a 4-1 advantage then closing it out 6-3, and seen we were into a taut deciding Champions breaker. Peers saw one backhand return on match point fly inches into the tramlines, but with Murray serving on second match point, there were no such mistakes. Fognini couldn't rescue one last Peers smash and the match belonged to Murray/Peers, Jamie celebrating the moment by pointing in the direction of his wife Alejandra who sat courtside. Both teams won 21 games during the match, but for now it means Murray/Peers move top of Group Ashe/Smith.
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