Jamie exits in obscurity as the final Brits crash

OF THOSE British players remaining yesterday morning, Jamie Murray was considered to have the best chance of lifting silverware. However, after a rare appearance on Centre Court on Thursday he was shifted back out to a quiet Court 12, where he and Australian partner Casey Dellacqua lost 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to Max Mirnyi — a former partner of Murray’s — and Hao Ching-Chan. ‘It was a close match,’ said Murray. ‘We did well to come back into because it was a bit flat at the start. It was different from Thursday on Centre Court because when we started the match it was pretty empty so it was a bit weird.’ Murray is a local resident, staying just up the road from the club, but he will become a recluse for the next few days now that he and younger brother Andy have both exited the Championships. ‘I do not think I will come back here,’ said Murray. ‘I will stay at home, watch the football, relax, put my feet up a bit and play golf. I probably won’t watch the men’s final this year because I cannot get massively excited about it. When Andy’s out my interest goes down quite a lot.’ The British wildcard pairing of Neal Skupski and Naomi Broady had proved popular — the pair being inundated with photo requests from fans after their third-round victory on Thursday evening — but their run also ended in the last eight as 16th seeds Aisam Qureshi and Vera Dushevina claimed a 6-4, 6-3 victory. The first Brit to bow out yesterday was Bedfordshire’s Joshua Sapwell, 18, whose run to the quarter-finals of the boys’ singles ended at the hands of eighth seed Johan Sebastien Tatlot, the Frenchman claiming a tight first set before comfortably closing out the 7-6, 6-1 victory. The fact that all six British entrants in the boys’ singles required a wildcard to enter the event is a worrying sign for the future. It is expected that Bob Brett, who is to join the LTA as their new player performance director in September, will not be so lenient when it comes to free handouts next year.