THE Colombia flags were out in force at Jamie Murray’s house in Wimbledon during the week. The Scot’s wife Alejandra hails from the South American nation and she was determined to make a night of it when they played England in that World Cup last 16 match. If the atmosphere ultimately fell a little flat, the good news is that her husband is still well and truly at the party when it comes to South West London this week.
Andy might be lost to Wimbledon this week, already adjusting to a hard court in preparation hopefully for the US Open, but at least one Murray sibling is still in with a shout. Or two.
Read more: Main contenders in the men's draw gear up for another Manic Monday
First priority is this former World No 1’s pursuit of the men’s doubles title which has always eluded him.. Not only are he and Bruno Soares through to the third round without facing a break point, they are the highest seeds remaining after the top four teams lost. “It doesn’t guarantee anything, there’s good teams out there,” says Jamie. “But someone’s got to win it, why not us?”
Then there is the mixed doubles, where Jamie is defending champion, and the early signs are promising in his fledgling arrangement with Viktoria Azarenka of Belarus. Having won this event previously in the company of Jelena Jankovic and Martina Hingis, the Scot was asked what makes for a good mixed doubles partner. “Well, they all got to World No 1 so that’s a good start!” he says.
Andy’s halting rehabilitation from that hip problem has understandably hogged the headlines but it is worth pointing out that Jamie too has had injury battles this year. He is playing here with heavy strapping on his right knee, and admits it is something which hasn’t been right all season.
“Since I finished playing on clay it’s been loads better,” said Jamie. “But it’s been a year that I’ve had this. And for a while, daily life was so frustrating because as soon as I’d sit down it would ache. Driving, going to the cinema, sitting there for two hours, I just couldn’t do it and it was so annoying. I was driving [an automatic] with just my left foot which is not really recommended!
Read more: Main contenders in the men's draw gear up for another Manic Monday
“At tournaments we’re lucky enough that they drive us around but I would have to sit in the front and put the seat all the way back so no one would want to sit behind me. I thought grass was going to be worse for it but it’s actually been really good and I haven’t had to take so many anti-inflammatories.”
Consequently, Jamie told reporters and his coach Louis Cayer that he wouldn’t defend his mixed doubles title this year to focus on attempting to win his maiden men’s doubles title. That all changed, though, when Soares mentioned to him that Azarenka was looking for a partner. “Bruno was the matchmaker. He texted me to say ‘do you want to play mixed doubles with Azarenka?’ I wasn’t going to play but I said ‘s***, that is a great partner’.”
With no ranking points up for grabs and £110,000 for the winners, approximately the same as what you get for winning one singles match, mixed is a poor relation at Wimbledon. As Jamie has found this week, it has also put a serious strain on his schedule.
“It has been tough [with the schedule],” said Jamie. “We were supposed to play on Thursday and they cancelled us because they said they didn’t have a big enough court to put us on. Which meant I had to play back-to-back days and my mixed was back to back days as well. Yesterday [Thursday] was a long day, I was at the courts 13 hours, I was happy I was still alive at the end of it!
Read more: Main contenders in the men's draw gear up for another Manic Monday
“Why do I do it? For me, it is the fun of just going out and playing. We were playing at 9pm at night and it was full, you know it is a Grand Slam, the biggest tournaments we have. It is not like we are going to play them forever. Especially with somebody you feel you can do well with, that makes it worth the extra effort.”
While Andy clearly felt he wasn’t quite as ready, Jamie agrees with the assertion that it is just ‘brilliant that he’s back playing’. These brothers may have a future together on a doubles court, but they both have plenty to achieve before then. “It was cool to see him back playing at Queen’s and Eastbourne. Hopefully he can build up over the summer and post-US Open have a much better feel of where he’s at.”
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