TENNIS:Andy Murray claims to derive more pleasure from winning doubles matches with his brother Jamie than succeeding in singles, which might explain why he was prepared to endure finger-freezing conditions with a stinking cold yesterday despite having a singles match today which could carry him to the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.
The Murrays may become the first British brothers to partner each other in the Davis Cup since John and David Lloyd more than two decades ago, which made the two Scots' battling tie-break win over Marcos Baghdatis and Stanislas Wawrinka a result with possible significance for the tie against the Netherlands in Birmingham in April.
"We have a lot of fun together and it makes me happier to win with him than winning singles, because I want to help him out and it's such an important pay-day for him," said Andy.
"I've always wanted my brother to do the best he could. I have always taken an interest in him. I've always called him before his matches and try to give him tactics. I love seeing him win more than me because winning means a lot to him."
If this establishes the allegedly controversial, often-criticised teenager as in fact a nice guy, it also indicates the value of having somebody close on tour.
The presence of Jamie, at 20 a year Andy's senior, may also lift some of the burden of companionship from the coach Brad Gilbert and perhaps help consolidate the American's relationship with Andy. Player and coach were thrown together suddenly last year and to spend so many weeks with someone so unknown and so different cannot always have been easy.
Meanwhile, Jamie seems so unfazed by playing in the shadow of a far more famous sibling that he has been content to move further into that environment, forsaking his focus on singles. Last year the brothers reached two ATP Tour finals together and yesterday was the fifth time they have paired up on the main tour, although for a while the omens did not look good.
Jamie, a left-hander, dropped his first two service games and for a set and a half struggled against the ground strokes of two top-30 singles players, and especially against the brilliance of Baghdatis. But after Wawrinka's serve was unexpectedly broken in the opening game of the second set the match changed course dramatically and Jamie gradually began to reveal his coolness and eye at the net.
In the extended tie-break, which now takes the place of a third set on the tour, the brothers were ahead from the start. Andy was excellent all through the 4-6, 6-1 (10-8) win and will rarely produce more heartwarming quotes than those he uttered yesterday.
But whether his ailing body can also warm to the singles task, against a highly competent Christophe Rochus today, is another matter.
In other news, Spanish world number two Rafael Nadal began the new season with a 6-4 6-2 first-round victory over the German Rainer Schuettler in the Chennai Open in India.
The 20-year-old left-hander, dressed in a bright-yellow sleeveless T-shirt and green capris, ended the German's challenge in 86 minutes after himself looking rusty in a first set that lasted 50 minutes.
"I needed the win; I wasn't feeling 100 per cent fluent coming back into competition after the break," the top seed said.
"It's good to begin the season with a victory, but I need more match practice before going to Australia (for the season's first grand slam)."
In Perth, Australia, Mark Philippoussis retired with a knee injury against Jerome Haehnel as France whitewashed their hosts 3-0 in their Group A encounter in the Hopman Cup.
Philippoussis had been hoping for a solid performance this week to earn a wildcard for the Australian Open, which starts on January 15th, but he seems certain now to miss the grand slam in his home town of Melbourne.
Guardian Service
