Murray in the mix for Wimbledon doubles victory
Murray in mint condition for mixed doubles final
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Saturday, 07, Jul 2007 09:12
Britain's Jamie Murray has earned a chance of winning his first major title by reaching the final of the Wimbledon mixed doubles with Serbian partner Jelena Jankovic.
Playing both quarter-final and semi-final games on the same day due to the wet weather which has blighted this year's championships, the pair reached tomorrow's final after defeating 11th seeds Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva 6-4 4-6 6-4 on centre court.
Earlier in the day Murray and Jankovic, playing for their fourth consecutive day, beat ninth seeds Marcin Matkowski and Cara Black 7-6 (7/1) 6-7 (4/7) 7-5 at the quarter-final stage.
The 21-year-old doubles specialist's success today will have removed the disappointment of a third-round defeat yesterday in the third round of the men's doubles with US partner Eric Butorac, with the pair having won a number of tour titles this year.
Murray and the world's third-ranked singles player Jankovic have quickly formed a superb partnership, having never played mixed doubles before their success at SW19 this year.
Speaking to the Scotsman earlier this week, the elder brother of British number one Andy said he had struck up a good bond with the Serb.
"We're just really enjoying ourselves," he told the paper, adding: "Jelena is brilliant and she hits the ball superbly."
Despite displaying a conspicuous enjoyment of each other's company on-court, Jankovic had scotched rumours of a blossoming romance between the pair earlier on in the championships.