A Murray became a US Open champion on Saturday but his first name is not Andy nor did he win in singles. It is Andy Murray’s elder brother, Jamie who reigned supreme in men’s doubles alongside his Brazilian partner Bruno Soares, adding to the Australian Open title they won earlier in the year.
The fourth seeds put up a strong display against the all-Spanish unseeded team of Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo García-Lopez to secure a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 victory. The final lasted only 1 hour 18 minutes.
For the 30-year-old Jamie, this was his third Grand Slam title overall after having triumphed in mixed doubles at Wimbledon back in 2007 when he partnered Jelena Jankovic. As for the veteran Soares, this latest win gives him his fifth Major title of any kind. His illustrious resume already has two US Open mixed doubles titles and one at the Australian Open, besides the aforementioned men’s doubles crown with Murray at Melbourne Park this year.
Same number of Slam titles as Andy
Jamie thus joins his younger brother Andy, who too is the proud owner of three Major titles, the latest of which came in Wimbledon singles this year. For the left-handed Briton, this victory is something he will savour for a long time. Last year, Jamie reached the finals of both the Wimbledon and the US Open with his former partner John Peers but the British-Australian duo lost out on the title on both occasions.
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One year later, Jamie returned to the Flushing Meadows to erase the memories of his heartbreak and become Great Britain’s first man in 44 years to emerge victorious in this category at the US Open.
First season for Jamie with Soares
Jamie’s decision to join forces with Soares reaped rich dividends and helped both to perform to their potential. The duo started their season with a bang, winning two titles during the Australian swing which later on aided Jamie in clinching the No. 1 ranking as well.
After a bit of a lull during the summer, they were back to their best once more when they reached the final at the Rogers Cup in August.
Riding on that confidence, they played a gutsy match to oust the top seeds and defending champions Pierre Hugues-Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the semi-finals, the very same pair who dashed Jamie’s hopes last year.
That was probably the biggest indication of how prepared they were to be crowned the champions.
In the final, the fourth seeds steadied their ship after an early exchange of breaks. From 2-2, they stormed their way through to grab the opening set in 37 minutes.
They kept up the momentum in the second set and broke early to surge ahead 3-0. It was only a matter of time before they closed out the win.
