Tennis star Jamie Murray’s most successful year on the court has been matched with an award off it – an OBE for services to his sport and charity.
Murray, 30, may be better known as the older brother of Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, 29, but he has forged a career playing doubles and during the past 12 months has won the US and Australian Open titles and helped the Great Britain team clinch the Davis Cup.
After receiving the OBE from the Queen during a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, the doubles star 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.”
A four-year-old Murray, began playing tennis alongside his younger sibling in Dunblane and turned professional at 18.
The brothers were set on the road to tennis stardom by their mother Judy Murray, a tennis coach and former captain of Great Britain’s Fed Cup team, who joined him at the palace along with his Colombian-born wife Alejandra Gutierrez and father William Murray.
Jamie came to wider attention when at the age of 21 he won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 2007 with Serbian Jelena Jankovic, becoming the first Briton to win a senior title at SW19 for 20 years.
A highlight of his career was being part of the team which won the Davis Cup last year, an historic victory as Great Britain lifted the famous trophy for the first time since 1936.
