When your little brother is the owner of two grand slams and an Olympic gold, living in his shadow is inevitable. Fighting it would be pointless.
Yet there has never been any bitterness from Jamie Murray towards Andy. Theirs is a reassuringly normal sibling rivalry and Jamie is not the kind of person who would ever allow his ego to get the better of him, even though his commendable career has so often been obscured by Murray junior’s many achievements.
Supported by their mother, Judy, in the makeshift stands at the Flanders Expo, where it can feel as though a builder in a forklift truck might appear on court at any moment, they are a remarkable tennis family and it was fitting that it was the inimitable doubles combination of the Murray brothers who edged Great Britain a step closer to making history with their absorbing 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Belgium’s Steve Darcis and David Goffin in the third rubber of the Davis Cup final. The trophy will be Britain’s for the first time since 1936 if Andy wins the fourth singles rubber against Goffinon Sunday afternoon.
The rest of Leon Smith’s team would be trying it on if any of them attempted to downplay Andy’s role in their success. The world No2 fired them past France in the quarters and Australia in the semis, before making sure that Britain finished the first day of the final on level terms, overcoming a hostile home crowd and Ruben Bemelmans in the second rubber after Goffin fought back from two sets down against Kyle Edmund on Friday afternoon.
If only there was a way to clone him. For all his brilliance even Andy cannot win a team event on his own and this was one of those rare occasions – in his professional life at least – when he needed some help from his big brother. While it looked like they were heading for a tense family meeting when Jamie was floundering during sets one and two, he was inspired by the end and his vital contribution was encapsulated by the composed way he served it out in the fourth set.
Andy is accustomed to playing on the big stage, but the fear for Britain was that such a delicate situation would stifle Jamie’s confidence, that the pressure would be too much for him to handle. The elder brother by 15 months, his circuitous journey to world No7 in the doubles rankings has been far from smooth. Jamie almost quit the game after dropping out of the top 100 in the doubles rankings two years ago and although his form has been outstanding this year, he recently split with John Peers after their disappointments in the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open.
He is yet to win a grand slam since that heady ride to mixed doubles glory with Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon in 2007 and Jamie found it tough going against Darcis and Goffin at first. He felt exposed by the glare of the spotlight, blinking nervously, serving weakly, volleying erratically. Andy was as light and sharp as ever, but Jamie is a heavier unit and he was moving with all the grace of a League Two centre-back.
Belgium chucked a curveball Britain’s way by replacing Kimmer Coppejans with Goffin before the start of play and the world No16 was superb, delighting the home fans with some stinging groundstrokes and wondrous lobbing. Darcis and Goffin unsettled Jamie with their deep court positioning. Britain won a tight first set without convincing and it was not a surprise when Jamie was broken in the second set.
The Murrays had doubles experience on their side, not to mention an unflinching fraternal bond. This was the 56th time they have played together (their win-loss record is 32-24) and they had already beaten Australia and France together, while Darcis and Goffin had never partnered each other in the Davis Cup. The Belgian pairing was last seen in a Challenger match in Miami two years ago and their record now stands at 3-5.
Darcis, broken four times in the final two sets, was the weak link for Belgium and with Andy untouchable on serve Jamie finally got his act together after he was broken at the start of the third set. His net game clicked and his anxiety disappeared. He cracked volleys away and after trailing 2-1 in the third set, Britain won three straight games to lead 4-2 thanks to a couple of magnificent touches from Jamie.
When he saved seven break points to hold in the unforgettable fourth game at the start of the fourth set, it was clear that the stubbornness gene belongs to both of the boys from Dunblane.
