It is difficult to define Jamie Murray precisely without reference to his brother.
This is not to diminish the older sibling but to emphasise that Andy owes much to Jamie and has more in common with him than superficial examination may suggest.
This debt was always readily acknowledged by the younger brother. It was paid out in razor-sharp banter and in bruises over the years.
Jamie always gave as good as he got. Jamie, indeed, always gave everything. He won seven grand slams, reached world No 1 in his discipline and won the world cup of tennis for Dunblane. He and Andy won all the points (save one by James Ward) on Team GB’s Davis Cup triumphal run of 2015.
Andy was engulfed by his team mates after he beat David Goffin in the decisive match but Jamie’s input was crucial. It always was in the Murray story.
Two tales testify to the dynamic that pushed two siblings to the very top. When Andy as a lad first beat his big brother — 15 months older — in a tournament, the increasingly heated banter led to Jamie dropping the car seat divider on his brother’s finger. The scar apparently survives to this day.
A beaming Jamie Murray with younger brother Andy and their Davis Cup silverware in 2015
Second, the Monday after Andy won his first Wimbledon, Jamie came round to his house and they decided to have a game of table tennis. It ended, of course, in recriminations with Jamie stating he would never play the game against his brother again and Andy claiming he could win playing with his left hand.
This may seem the stuff of the playground and in many ways it is. But it is also the substance of who top sportsmen are and how they are driven.
Andy’s triumph was that he had an older brother to compete with and learn from. Jamie’s triumph was that he acted the role of the trailblazer with great humility and self-deprecating humour.
His achievements, though, shine bright on their own. They are made all the more creditable because of the struggle he had to endure to accomplish them.
Jamie, at 10, was the equal of his contemporary, Rafa Nadal. His life and career became unstuck after an uncomfortable experience away from home under LTA coaching. He never made excuses for this but his experience informed decisions when his brother, 18 months younger, left home, this time for Barcelona. It was the right move for Andy but made after due deliberation and in light of Jamie’s travails.
Both Murrays remained highly competitive but Jamie struggled to find an outlet for both his skill and his desire. The doubles format was his redemption. Louis Cayer, the greatest doubles coach in the world, was a constant supporter. He lauded Jamie as one of the best volleyers in the world.
Jamie was the first of the Murrays to win at Wimbledon, alongside Jelena Jankovic in 2007
Jamie, too, saw that he could forge his own path. He was never snide or grudging in his comments about his brother, though they retained the capacity to fall out, not least over Andy’s withdrawal from the Davis Cup in 2008.
Andy, in return, was always supportive of his brother. He knew the early duels of childhood had toughened him up for the big stage.
Their paths diverged. But they shared a bond in spirit. Jamie always seemed more amiable, more relaxed but, in truth, he was as driven as his brother. He was the first Murray to win at Wimbledon, taking the mixed singles with Jelana Jankovic in 2007. This was played out to smiles and flirtatious glances. But it was serious stuff.
Jamie won five mixed doubles titles at grand slams (two at Wimbledon and three at the US Open) and two grand slam men’s doubles titles (Australian and US Open). He was also a six-time runner-up in grand slam doubles, thrice in each discipline. He won 34 tour titles in total, two with his brother.
This was the stuff of genuine greatness. It was franked by Bruno Soares and himself reaching the world No 1 spot in 2016.
However, Jamie’s story has a further resonance. He once considered a very early retirement but committed to the sport and all the trials and tribulations that accompany it. The ascent, one suspects, was all the better for the stumbles and the doubts.
The brothers posted a flashback photo of their young selves when scaling the rankings in 2016
He had a glut of memorable performances but many will point to his matches in the 2015 Davis Cup as signature moments. It may seem daft to place these above multiple grand slams but no one who watched him in the ties against France and Australia can have any doubt about his mental strength or his playing quality.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nicolas Mahut of France were beaten in five sets by the Murray brothers on the grass at Queen’s Club. In the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, it took five sets for the Murrays to beat Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth of Australia in a match where the atmosphere started at boiling point and became more heated.
The road to Davis Cup triumph was simply plotted: Andy to win both his singles and the Murrays to win the doubles, thus providing the three points necessary for victory. This proved to be the case in all ties except the match against USA when Ward chipped in with a vital point.
The execution was more difficult, of course, than the strategy. Andy was not a natural doubles player and relied on the nous of his older brother. Jamie, in contrast, found himself at the centre of the storm.
Doubles finals, even in grand slams, can be played out in sparse arenas but Jamie found centre stage to his liking. He never took a backward step as the world was conquered and the Davis Cup grasped in Ghent.
The Dunblane brothers teamed up to remarkable effect on the way to Davis Cup success
He now leaves the tennis stage, at least in playing terms. He has already organised tournaments and been tournament director at the prestigious Queen’s Club event. There is an obvious path for him to pursue in that area but his personality and intelligence suggest that there are no boundaries for a man whose new life begins at 40.
Those who have encountered him in his long career in the sport will wish him nothing but the best. This observer’s goodwill is piqued by the remembrance of first interviewing the two brothers 20 years ago. They squabbled over who was the better golfer and needed little encouragement from the photographer to indulge in a water fight.
Their exuberance and good nature were engaging. I left them both hoping that the tennis world would treat them well. It did. But they, in turn, graced the sport and were a credit to themselves, their family and their country.
This may seem saccharine but it is true and speaks to a welcome realisation. Sometimes the nice guys do win.
