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Monday 1 February 2016

Jamie Murray set to beat Andy to world No1 spot after long road to top

When Jamie Murray lands in London on Tuesday he will do so with a grand slam doubles trophy to accompany his bags. He will also be the world No2 and at some stage in the very near future it is likely he could become the world’s top-ranked doubles player.


Murray was back in Rod Laver Arena to watch his brother Andy take on Novak Djokovic in the singles final, just as Andy had been there at the end to celebrate Jamie’s triumph in the doubles, when he and Brazil’s Bruno Soares beat Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek to win the Australian Open.

Beating Andy, who has been in nine grand slam finals, to be the first member of their family to be a world No1 is something the 29-year-old probably never thought possible, especially not when he was considering throwing away his rackets a few years ago as the grind of the Tour began to take its toll. With the help of a good partner, in the Australian John Peers, and a reunion with his old coach, Louis Cayer, he dug himself out of the hole he was in. Last year he and Peers reached the Wimbledon and US Open finals before parting ways as Murray joined forces with Soares, and on Saturday night the newly formed pair won their first doubles title together.