Andy Murray's first competitive week as Wimbledon champion ended in defeat yesterday as he and Colin Fleming were beaten in the final of the doubles at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
Having only teamed up at the last minute, the two old friends played brilliantly to make the final and had a set point in the second last night before they were edged out 6-4, 7-6 by Bruno Soares and Alexander Peya, the No.3 seeds.
As he prepared to head to Cincinnati for the second of back-to-back Masters 1000s however, Murray was in good heart, confident he will be peaking come New York and the defence of his US Open title, starting on August 26.
"It's the first time we've played together on tour and we've been friends since we were seven or eight so it's really cool to have a great run," Murray said, while Fleming described it as the best week of his career.
Despite the disappointment in not winning the title - and becoming the first all-British pair to win a Masters 1000 - Fleming earned himself some good money and 600 ranking points.
Those points will move Fleming to the verge of a place in the world's top 20, something that might reduce the likelihood of playing with Murray again at a later date. It was only because he and his regular partner, former Wimbledon champion Jonny Marray, were not ranked highly enough to get direct entry together that Fleming needed a partner.
Murray answered his SOS and, despite losing in the third round of the singles to Ernests Gulbis, the world No.2 was comfortable in Fleming's company and on top of his game.
"I want to say a huge thanks to Andy," Fleming said. "He's the Wimbledon champ and I don't think he had doubles in his plans. It was a very last-minute thing but it's been a week I'll never forget."
Murray will play either Gulbis or Mikhail Youzhny in his first match in Cincinnati.
Rafael Nadal beat Canada's Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-2 to win the men's singles in Montreal and claim his eighth title of the year, after overcoming world No.1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2) in Saturday's semi-final.
Women's world No.1 Serena Williams, meanwhile, also won her eighth title of 2013, taking one hour and five minutes to see off Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-0.
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