Jamie Murray has ruled out playing alongside his brother Andy in the men’s doubles at this year’s Wimbledon.
Andy Murray is continuing his recovery from hip resurfacing surgery which he underwent in January. At the time Andy’s future remained shrouded in uncertainty, but he has recently declared himself pain-free, raising hopes he would request a wildcard for this year’s Wimbledon.
There were suggestions Andy Murray would seek to play alongside brother in the men’s doubles but Jamie has ruled out any chance of that happening in this year’s championship.
“I don’t think we’re going to play doubles in Wimbledon this year,” Jamie said. “I know a lot of people have talked about that. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. We’d both like to [one day], but in the situation we’re in, I don’t think it’ll happen this year, but in the future who knows.”
Jamie and his doubles partner Bruno Soares are two-time Grand Slam winners having scooped both the US Open and Australian Open in 2016 and Jamie is currently seventh in the rankings.
“For me personally, these are my peak years in my career,” Jamie said. “If I go to play Wimbledon and I’m playing with someone who hasn’t hit a tennis ball in eight months, I’m kind of giving up one of those years so that’s a big decision for me to take. Circumstances might dictate otherwise, but as far as I’m concerned, I want to give myself the best possible chance to win the tournament. Normally I’d have a good chance with Andy, but right now, he’s not in his peak moments.”
And when asked about how Andy is progressing in his comeback, Jamie answered: “He’s doing alright, he’s doing okay. He’s just taking things slow. He’s on track with his recovery, based on when he got the surgery and what he can do.
“He’s not putting a time limit on things, which is smart as he doesn’t need to. He’s trying to get his hip as strong as he possibly can so when he does get back on court and is training, he’s in the best situation to find out what level he can get back to.”
Jamie was playing in the No.1 Court celebrations at Wimbledon as he partnered Goran Ivanisevic and Martina Navratilova in the exhibition matches under the new roof but it is now back to business with the French Open starting on Friday when he will be back alongside Soares.
“We will try to win,” Jamie said. “We’re one of the best teams in the world and have been over the last number of years. We’ve started the clay season well and we will try to finish strongly at Roland Garros.”