Jamie baits Andy as he lifts US Open title
JAMIE Murray could not resist baiting his brother Andy after clinching his second Grand Slam title of the year in the US Open men’s doubles.
The Scot and his Brazilian partner Bruno Soares beat Spanish pair Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo GarciaLopez il at Flushing Meadows to add another major trophy to the first they won at the Australian Open in January.
Their 6-2 6-3 victory also means Jamie ends the year one Grand Slam title up on his younger brother, who was crowned champion at Wimbledon but lost in the quarter-finals in New York.
“I’m starting to move out of the shadows a little bit,” said Jamie, smiling.
“There’s a long way to go. Andy’s had a great year. He did three Grand Slam finals, winning Wimbledon was huge and Olympic gold. “He couldn’t win this – but I did!” Jamie was playing his fourth major final in men’s doubles and has gone one step further in New York than last year, when he finished a runner-up alongside John Peers.
The Murray brothers have now won a combined six major titles, with Jamie winning his first in the Wimbledon mixed doubles in 2007 alongside Jelena Jankovic. Andy is a two-time champion at SW19 and won the US Open singles in 2012.
“I think we have been able to do a lot of amazing things in our lives on a tennis court,” Jamie said.
After Soares had sealed victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium with a crisp forehand volley, Murray and his partner embraced in celebration before holding their arms aloft.
They will share a pot of 625,000 US dollars and having already qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals, are still in with a chance of ending the year as the world’s number one duo.
Carreno Busta and Garcia-Lopez were surprise runners to the final after knocking out their more fancied compatriots Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez in the last four.
The unseeded duo were outclassed, however, by a polished performance and the only shame was that more people were not inside an almost empty stadium to witness it.
Murray will now turn his attention to Britain’s Davis Cup semi-final with Argentina, which starts in Glasgow on Friday.
The 30-year-old had to take a medical time-out for treatment on his neck in the second set but insists it will not be a problem next week.
“I will be fine for Davis Cup,” Murray said. “The physio said it’s probably going to be sore for a couple of days. It’s not that comfortable now, but thankfully it didn’t really affect me playing.”
ANGELIQUE KERBER can add US Open champion to her new world No. 1 ranking after she beat Karolina Pliskova in a nail-biting Ladies Final.
Kerber had to fight back from a break down in the final set to win 6-3 4-6 6-4 and seal her second grand slam of 2016.
Pliskova knocked out Serena Williams in the semi-final in New York but could not manage a repeat against Kerber, who becomes the first German US Open champion since Steffi Graf in 1996.
STAN WAWRINKA has beaten Novak Djokovic before and says he knows he can do so again as the duo prepare to lock horns in today’s US Open final.
Wawrinka was the instigator of Djokovic’s only defeat in his last seven major finals as the Swiss demolished the world No 1 in straight sets at last year’s French Open.
“I won’t think about the French Open match, but the victory, yes,” Wawrinka said. “I think for sure it’s going to give me confidence to tell myself that I know I can do it because I did it at the French Open final.”