State of the Nation - Tennis: Dominant force of Murray brothers leads the way for GB

When remembering 2016 in the tennis history books, the name Andy Murray will be etched from the first paragraph to last.
top men: Andy Murray (left) and brother Jamie in Davis Cup action. Picture: Andrew Milligan/Ptop men: Andy Murray (left) and brother Jamie in Davis Cup action. Picture: Andrew Milligan/P
top men: Andy Murray (left) and brother Jamie in Davis Cup action. Picture: Andrew Milligan/P

The Scot won Olympic gold, a second Wimbledon title, the World Tour Finals and finished the year finally emblazoned with the world No 1 tag. But deeper beyond Murray’s prolific form, there is a tale of British tennis emerging across the board.

Off the back of a first Davis Cup triumph in 70 years, there was little surprise when a Murray was in the winner’s enclosure at the first Slam of the year. But it was Andy’s big brother Jamie who had the first addition to the family collection as his doubles partnership with Bruno Soares bore fruit in Melbourne. For the younger sibling, it looked like another year of ‘what if Novak wasn’t around’ when he was swept aside in the men’s singles showpiece.

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Jo Konta’s surprise run to the semis continued a breathless championships, which also saw Gordon Reid win his first Grand Slam in the wheelchair event.

Andy Murray takes on Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in the men's singles final at the Rio Olympics.Andy Murray takes on Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in the men's singles final at the Rio Olympics.
Andy Murray takes on Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in the men's singles final at the Rio Olympics.

Djokovic and Murray met again in the French Open final but from a set up, the latter lost his way and Djokovic made those ‘what ifs’ mumblings reappear.

Peaking at the right time is a term regularly used in an Olympic year, and Murray made full use of Djokovic’s faltering form at Wimbledon, and then the Rio Olympics. And while the intriguing battle at the top rumbled on, the British sideshow was as prevalent. Part-timer Marcus Willis won at Wimbledon to set up a match against Roger Federer before Dan Evans made a bigger impression against the great Swiss in the next round.

Kyle Edmund’s breakthrough had been lower key until he turned heads at the US Open - where he eventually fell to Djokovic in round four. And the prosperity continued with Konta breaking into the women’s top ten – Britain’s first in 32 years.

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Trophies were left to the Murrays, however, as Jamie added the US doubles crown before Andy claimed his maiden World Tour finals in London.

Sir Andy may look at 2016 as the year British tennis finally came off his shoulders. And so it leaves just one question, has it been in a healthier place?

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