It was a fairytale ending for one of the happiest tennis partnerships to grace Centre Court. Jamie Murray and Jelena Jankovic won the mixed doubles last night, with the former becoming the first Briton to win a final at Wimbledon since Jeremy Bates and Jo Durie took the mixed doubles crown in 1987.
There had been general astonishment to see a Briton in a Wimbledon final and even more astonishment that it was Jamie rather than Andy Murray who had made it there.
“I guess nobody thought I would get to a Wimbledon final before him,” he said on Saturday evening and the stenographer who noted his words wrote his name as “Andy Murray”.
A policeman at the gates yesterday morning noticed that the autograph-hunters crowded round Andy and ignored his older brother, the Wimbledon finalist.
None of this mattered on Centre Court yesterday evening. They had got there, Murray said, because “we have a lot more chemistry than other teams” and chemistry carried them through.
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“I was just looking for the kiss from her to be honest,” he said afterwards, explaining how they had found the will to defeat two former grand-slam doubles champions, Jonas Bj?rkman and Alicia Molik 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Jankovic and Murray met by chance on the Sunday before Wimbledon. She was the world No 3 from Serbia, and had arrived for the singles tournament fresh from a run to the semi-finals at the French Open.
He was Andy Murray’s brother, a player whose highest singles ranking was 834. His doubles star was on the rise, however. With the help of the doubles coach, Louis Cayer, and with a new partner in the American, Eric Butorac, he had risen to No 33 in the less glamorous field of doubles.
He decided to pop the question. “It was not about my game, for sure,” Jankovic said. “Admit it”.
“She’s a good player,” Murray said. “It’s a bonus that she’s very attractive.”
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He made her laugh and played almost faultlessly at the net. She smiled for him, held her serve and played powerful ground strokes. In post-match press conferences, they seemed like a happy couple, returning after a date. Their parents met in the stands. Murray invited her to Scotland for Christmas.
“She’s playing hard to get,” Murray said. “He’s trying too hard,” Jankovic said. “But we’re having a lot of fun. It’s a great game we’re playing.” Yesterday, in the evening sunlight, they were 4-1 up in the third set. Some devastating service returns from Jankovic gave them break points, but Murray kept returning into the net. “I was telling him, ‘Jamie, let’s go. This return, hit a good one because you are going to get many kisses’,” Jankovic said. Finally he did, and she served out the match.
Jankovic cried; both their mothers cried. It seemed that half the crowd were crying with them. A terrible wet Wimbledon ended with scenes of euphoria — the happy couple were going to the winners’ ball.
“He was asking me the whole day what kind of dress I’m wearing, if it’s going to be short or long,” Jankovic said. “I had to disappoint him. It’s very long.” Would they come back next year to defend their title. “I hope so,” Jankovic said. “I’ve got witnesses to that as well,” Murray said.
There was a lot less love in the air in an acrimonious men’s doubles final as Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement, the Frenchmen, caused an upset in beating Bob and Mike Bryan, of the United States.