Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Jamie Murray receives OBE from Queen at Buckingham Palace

Jamie Murray has been awarded an OBE for services to his sport and charity.

The 30-year-old, whose younger brother Andy is the defending Wimbledon champion, has won the US and Australian Open men's doubles titles in the last year, as well as helping Great Britain claim the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936.

After receiving the OBE from the Queen during a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, he said: "I never expected this, and it's not something you think about.

"It's amazing to be honoured like this for some of the achievements I've been able to do in my tennis career."

Murray began playing tennis alongside his younger sibling as a 4-year-old and turned professional at 18.

The brothers were set on the road to tennis stardom by their mother, Judy, a tennis coach and former captain of Great Britain's Fed Cup team. She joined him at the palace along with his Colombia-born wife, Alejandra Gutierrez, and father, William Murray.

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Murray made his first major breakthrough when, aged 21, he won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 2007 with Jelena Jankovic, becoming the first Briton to win a senior title at the tournament  for 20 years.

The doubles player said topping the rankings earlier this year was a highlight of the past 12 months.

"To get to No 1 in the world - that was a huge achievement," Murray said.

"I think every sportsman wants to be the best that they __can be I guess, so few people get to achieve that, and I think it showed the consistency I had to get to that point.

Murray (right) pictured with brother Andy while on Davis Cup duty
Murray (right) pictured with brother Andy while on Davis Cup duty

"And obviously, to win the Davis Cup as well, was an amazing achievement for the whole team. It had been so long since the country had been able to do that, and I had so many memorable experiences playing for the country.

"Last year, I had my best year and got to two grand slam finals, then I changed partner [to Bruno Soares] and it was only our third tournament we played together and we won the Australian Open.

"For me, it was an amazing feeling to do it, especially having lost finals and you never know when you're going to get back to one of them because they're the toughest tournaments we play in.

"And, to do it again at the US Open was an incredible couple of weeks for us. We were really excited about it."

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