Murray and Azarenka a step closer to mixed title

Are the mixed doubles coming home? Jamie Murray, after his latest win alongside Victoria Azarenka, admitted: “We’re getting closer – just two more games to go.”

But the former women’s No 1 from Belarus wasn’t sure they should be borrowing the phrase from football. “We could be jinxing this,” she laughed. “It could end in tears in the semi-final. Another bunch of guys returning without a trophy!”

Murray, pictured, confessed to learning a lot from his new team-mate. “It’s fun and it’s instructive to see how top players deal with certain situations. Plus, although I played a bit better today, Viki’s been getting me through this week.”

Murray and Azarenka beat the Dutch pair Jean-julien Rojer and Demi Schuurs 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 on Centre Court. “It was an entertaining match with lots of rallies. They played some great shots but we did really well to come back,” Murray added. “Westartedtoput the girl under a lot of pressure on her serve and that was the difference in the end. But it was epic. In the last game there were 25 deuces or something. We don’t make it easy for ourselves but we got there. I’m really excited to be in the semi-finals.”

The last-four clash on No 1 Court today will be with the English pairing of Jay Clarke and Harriet Dart and Azarenka, who’s just returned to tennis following the birth of her son, admitted she was getting more out of the mixed than she thought and for this she thanked Murray.

“Jamie had helped me get back part of my confidence that was missing,” she said. “It’s been great having his positivity throughout a match wherever it goes and that’s encouraged me to really go more for my shots.

“We get chances and sometimes we blow them but Jamie knows how to step it up in the important moments. Also he’s very fun to play with. We have a great time. We play intense, we play to win, we play to entertain.”

Murray added: “We’re getting stronger.”