Jamie Murray column: US Open success & 'amazing chemistry' with Bethanie Mattek-Sands

  • Posted: Sep 10, 2019

In his latest BBC Sport column, Jamie Murray describes why his fourth US Open title in four years was so special, the emotions and moments which follow a Grand Slam triumph, and the goals he has left in the sport.

It goes without saying I’m delighted to have won a fourth US Open title in four years after Bethanie Mattek-Sands and I retained the mixed doubles.

Winning four titles in a row there, one in the men’s and three in the mixed, is an amazing achievement and retaining the mixed is not an easy thing to do.

We are the first team to achieve that in 37 years so it shows how hard it is.

Now I’m looking to finish the season strongly with my men’s doubles partner Neal Skupski to set us up nicely for 2020.

I still have a couple of big goals left in my career – winning the men’s doubles at Wimbledon and the French Open.

Winning those titles with Neal would certainly be a career highlight.

It is an amazing feeling to win the biggest events. That’s what makes the training and sacrifices all worthwhile – for those moments.

Jamie Murray’s Grand Slam titles
2007 Wimbledon mixed doubles with Jelena Jankovic
2016 Australian Open men’s doubles with Bruno Soares
2016 US Open men’s doubles with Bruno Soares
2017 Wimbledon mixed doubles with Martina Hingis
2017 US Open mixed doubles with Martina Hingis
2018 US Open mixed doubles with Bethanie Mattek-Sands
2019 US Open mixed doubles with Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Neal and I joined up for the grass-court season and, after losing in the first round at Wimbledon, we really gelled over the North American hard-court season.

We had plenty of game time together, reaching the semi-finals in Cincinnati and Winston Salem, and that paid off as we also reached the semi-finals in the men’s competition at Flushing Meadows.

Initially we said our partnership would be until at least the end of this year and we will continue to play together next year.

Things have gone well so now we can get ourselves in a good position to start things up next year and get a full season together.

The past few weeks have been a good run for our partnership; we did well getting to the semi-finals, but also the fact of playing more matches and getting a better understanding. That will definitely get stronger.

‘We drank champagne out of the trophy and ate pizza’

After you’ve won a Grand Slam title you don’t immediately have time to let what you’ve just done sink in – there is so much you have to do after coming off court.

That initial moment, when you win match point, you’re immediately feeling ecstatic. Although it was very funny on Saturday because Beth hadn’t realised we had won.

She thought the score was something else and then I had a panic that I had started to celebrate and we hadn’t actually won.

But the crowd was going crazy so I knew we had and then she bounded over to jump on me in celebration. It was a great moment.

We played an amazing match from start to finish and kept going where we left off in the semi-finals. The way we played against Chan Hao-ching and Michael Venus – the top seeds – was pleasing and we’re so happy to win again.

Standing on court receiving your trophies is always an emotional moment and after receiving our prizes, we had to go straight to drug testing to pee!

After that we had to go to a couple of television studios for interviews, do a ‘winner’s walk’ video for the US Open, talk to the press and then finally get a shower.

Then I had to head to the airport because my flight was only a few hours after the final finished so I was rushing around a bit.

I turned my phone off before the match and once I finally got the chance to check it I had 51 WhatsApp messages of congratulations.

My brother Andy and my dad William were among them, plus lots of other members of the family and friends, while my mum was there watching so she could say congratulations in person.

Even though I had to rush off to JFK airport, I still had time to squeeze in some champagne – which we drank out of the trophy – and pizza with Bethanie and her husband Justin, my wife Alejandra, and the other members of our teams.

We did that last year so we had to continue the winning tradition!

We get a replica trophy which they send to us and that will go somewhere in the living room, probably around the television.

I’ve got a few trophies around the house because my wife says it is nice to document what I’ve achieved and show my hard work has paid off.

It is nice to have those memories because it is easy not to celebrate because then there is next week and the next step. But it’s cool to take time to reflect on previous successes and enjoy it.

‘Bethanie’s injury problems makes victory even more special’

Bethanie and I will keep playing together, I’m sure we will be playing the Australian Open as a pair.

We have amazing chemistry on court and that’s incredibly important for a doubles team. That’s what helps you get through the difficult moments.

You can put two great players on the court together but if they don’t have that bond then ultimately they will fall short and won’t be as successful as a team that are together through thick and thin.

Bethanie unfortunately missed the French Open earlier this year because of injury but as long as she is fit and healthy then we will keep playing.

She suffered a career-threatening knee injury at Wimbledon a couple of years ago and it is incredible what she has come back from.

I saw her a few months after the surgery from the dislocated knee – with Justin here, actually – and basically she was learning to walk again, take her first steps again. So to see where she is now is incredible.

She had another knee surgery this year so it has been difficult for her but to be back winning the biggest tournaments in the world is what makes all the rehab and perseverance all worth it.

It certainly makes our victory even more special.

Jamie Murray was speaking to BBC Sport’s Jonathan Jurejko at Flushing Meadows

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