Jamie out to get one over kid brother
JAMIE MURRAY is aiming to upstage brother Andy by winning his fourth Grand Slam title when he partners Bethanie Mattek-Sands in tomorrow’s US Open mixed doubles final.
While Sir Andy, 31, grabbed the limelight for winning Wimbledon twice and the US Open, Jamie is aiming to go one better today with his gutsy American partner.
Mattek-Sands has battled back after suffering a bad knee injury on court at Wimbledon last year.
Murray, 32, won his first Wimbledon title with Jelena Jankovic in 2007 and two more last year, when he partnered the now retired Martina
from GAVIN BERRY
Hingis to victory at the All England Club and at Flushing Meadows.
He jumped at the chance to play with flamboyant dresser MattekSands when she asked him, resulting in yet another final tomorrow, against Croatian Nikola Mektic and Poland’s Alicja Rosolska.
Murray said: “I was like, ‘Great partner for me, awesome doubles player and good fun’.
“We’ve played a lot of good stuff and it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve really enjoyed playing with Beth. She’s a great player, she’s fearless. She puts herself out there. She’s not scared of the ball and she moves so well up at the net. She knows where to be.
“For me, I’m not stressed about having to cover ground or be here or be there because she’s in the right spots.”
Mattek-Sands always had faith she would get back to the big time.
“In my mind I was very confident but I’m a pretty stubborn person,” she said.
“So I probably was just blocking a lot of things out that I didn’t think were going to go my way.
“I knew I didn’t want my last tournament to be Wimbledon last year. I was very determined to come back, and not just come back but to be competitive and put myself in winning positions.”
Kei Nishikori will watch a replay of his US Open win over Novak Djokovic four years ago in a bid to inspire him to victory in their semi-final today.
After beating Marin Cilic in five sets, the Japanese star said: “It’s always a good memory.
“It was a tough battle against Novak but, for sure, it’s going to give me good confidence.”