I claim no credit for spotting this Grauniad article:  my attention was drawn to it by a similarly tennis-besotted friend!

Andy was terrible and I didn't want to watch, says brother Jamie

Richard Jago in Cincinnati

Friday, 17th August 2007

Jamie Murray yesterday admitted that watching his younger brother, Andy, tumble out of the Cincinnati Masters this week was painful. He also conceded that Andy, the world No16, had put in a terrible performance during his straight-sets defeat against Marcos Baghdatis. Andy has suffered with a wrist injury for much of the summer. It forced him to miss the French Open and Wimbledon but his tentative steps back to action have not been successful and Wednesday's defeat by Baghdatis made him question whether he would be able to compete in the forthcoming US Open.

Jamie, who cruised into the second round of the doubles in Cincinnati last night, said: "He played terrible in his match - I didn't really want to watch. I'm sure the crowd didn't want to watch it either, but it's tough. He's come back from injury. I think his wrist is much better, but it's just confidence. Mentally, you have to get over that block of 'Oh my God, if I hit my forehand, am I going to do my wrist in again', so maybe that will take a while to get over. But he certainly wasn't good."

Jamie had no such concerns about his own form. He showed how much he has improved in just a few months as he and Mahesh Bhupathi, the former doubles world No1, overcame Juan Monaco of Argentina and Todd Perry of Australia 7-6, 6-7, 10-3. Murray's serving was good, his volleying audacious and his serve-returning improved. He also survived three unusual incidents - once when Monaco was able to smash back a Murray smash for a winner, once when a net cord serve from Monaco earned a let by striking Murray on the leg, and once when Bhupathi served an ace only for Perry to dangle the ball before the umpire, claiming it had burst. That point was replayed but this time Bhupathi and Murray lost it and went on to lose that service game too. Though the Indian-Scottish partnership dominated for lengthy periods, the contest became much closer than it looked as if it should have been.

An awkwardness for Jamie has been that, while partnering Bhupathi, he is required to occupy the right court, which he does not normally do and which he should not need to when he partners Leander Paes, the other former doubles world No1 from India, in Bangkok and Tokyo soon. Nor will that be necessary if he plays with Andy at New Haven next week, something which has not apparently been ruled out. "I haven't found a partner yet - Tim [Henman] didn't want to play," said Jamie. "I guess he doesn't really want to hang around to play doubles if he doesn't do so well in the singles, which is fair enough. I don't know if Andy really wants to play, but I still need to find someone."

*  Refreshing honesty on "big brother's" part!  Even though the scoreline in his & Bhupathi's match against Monaco & Perry is hardly indicative of "cruising" (a fact tacitly admitted later in the article! ), it's good to hear that someone thinks he's actually made more progress in the last few months.  Anyone know about his partnership with Leander Paes in Bangkok & Tokyo?  He's certainly "courting" the big names!