UK NEWS

JAMIE FAILS TO LIFT GLOOM

MURRAY: Bad news all round

Saturday July 4,2009

By Bob McKenize

IT WAS double-trouble for the Murray family on Centre Court yesterday after Jamie followed brother Andy out of Wimbledon with a straight-sets defeat in the mixed doubles.

The mood of expectancy had turned into a sense of waiting by the time Jamie followed his younger sibling on to the hallowed turf for his own semi-final alongside Liezel Huber.

The few hardy souls who remained in their seats appeared simply to be waiting for the crowds streaming through the exits to die down as the nation’s love affair with tennis turned to disappointed indifference.

The pair did not detain them long – just an hour and 19 minutes as they crashed out 6-2, 7-5 to Mark Knowles and Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

Murray came out all guns blazing – hitting four unreturnable serves to take the first game. But it was a false dawn and the promise was as empty as the Royal Box and a great day for the Murrays trailed into the dusk with a whimper.

Afterwards, he refused to blame his brother’s exit for his own failure to reach the final, but said the preparation had been the strangest he had ever experienced.

“I watched pretty much all of Andy’s game,” he said. “It was a tough day for him, that is for sure. It was weird. It is the first time in my life I didn’t want to play on Centre Court.

“They said to us if Andy’s game went to five sets, we would be on Court 3. Obviously, it didn’t and that was disappointing – and five minutes later we were playing our match.

“It was a strange situation to be in and not one I would want to be in again. It was hard to watch when you know you are going to be on in five or 10 minutes. My heart-rate was up. But obviously I was going to watch. My brother was playing in the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time.

“It was a bit difficult but I don’t think it affected the way I played. I actually felt good on the court.

“It is disappointing the way things have turned out. For Andy to be in the semi-finals is a big thing and it was a first for him, let’s not forget that. And it is disappointing that neither of us have won but there was always going to be a chance that would happen.”

It is Jamie who must do the most serious soul-searching now, though, as he does not have a partner for the remainder of the season and admits he is at something of a crossroads in a career that has slumped alarmingly since he won the mixed doubles here with Jelena Jankovic two years ago.

“I think it is a long road for me now,” he said. “I don’t know where I go from here.”

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