ATP Tour

Jamie Murray pays tribute to brother Andy at Queen's Club: 'He often found a way'

Andy Murray may not be swinging a racquet this week, but his legacy is present at the HSBC Championships in London. In a fitting tribute to the former World No. 1, the centre court at the historic Queen’s Club has officially been renamed the Andy Murray Arena.

Murray made his debut at Queen’s Club in 2005 and went on to etch his name in the history books by lifting the trophy a record five times. On two of those occasions, 2013 and 2016, he carried that momentum all the way to Wimbledon glory.

No one has had a closer seat to that journey than his brother, Jamie Murray, a 34-time tour-level doubles title and now the tournament director of the ATP 500 event. Jamie sat down with ATPTour.com in London to reflect on Andy’s Queen’s Club career.

“My biggest memory of Andy here was when he played [Thomas] Johansson. He cramped up, fell down, did that sort of swan dive thing. I remember sitting in the crowd behind the court, being genuinely concerned because I’d never seen that happen before,” Jamie recalled. “I also remember him beating [Milos] Raonic in the final one year. He probably shouldn’t have won that, but he did, he often found a way.

“It’s obviously been a successful tournament for him. He loved playing here. He really enjoyed grass and the crowd always gave him great support. It was also important for building confidence and getting matches after [Roland Garros], with the quick turnaround. He always seemed to find his footing on grass better than most.”

Alongside his singles exploits, Murray teamed with brother Jamie on two occasions in west London. The Scots defeated Scott Lipsky and Sam Querrey en route to the second round in 2010 before they lost their opening match in 2011.

“I remember one year we played on Centre Court on a Monday evening. I remember we won a round and that was fun. I remember losing on Court 1 to Mardy Fish and Mark Knowles and then one year we got pumped by Ken Skupski and Xavier Malisse.”

Jamie is still very much active on Tour, highlighted by his semi-final showing at the ATP 500 event in Dubai alongside John Peers. This week, though, the 39-year-old is taking a break from the match court to run proceedings as Tournament Director.

“I still enjoy playing and competing. The tournaments keep getting better each year, better infrastructure, player services, overall experience,” Murray said. “We’re looked after well and go to nice events, so my motivation’s still there. As long as I’m enjoying it and my ranking’s good enough to play these events, I’ll keep going.

“Last year [being tournament director] was weird, suddenly showing up in a suit after spending 30 weeks a year with the same guys. Now I feel like I blend in more. I’ll still have to wear a suit at some point this week, but I enjoy it.

“At Queen’s, we try to say yes to players. If they need extra badges, tickets, we sort them. They’ve got food all week, so no stress about access. There’s less stress in general. It’s a smaller draw, lots of practice courts, and of course, it’s grass, a short season. Players want to get in as many matches as possible.”

The HSBC Championships began on Monday, with the final on Sunday at 2p.m. BST. The grass-court event has been recognised as the ATP 500 Tournament of the Year for three consecutive years.