Jamie Murray's humility is an example for all of us

The era of Murray Mania is officially over. Jamie Murray has followed younger brother Andy into the sunset following his recent retirement announcement.

The Scot, 40, said that he is bringing the curtain down on a glittering doubles career - and with it, the last of 20 years of magic from the Dunblane duo.

Jamie's career

Most of the spotlight has naturally been focused on younger brother Andy, who enjoyed spectacular singles success, but older brother Jamie also enjoyed a stellar career on the doubles court.

Jamie’s 22-year career spanned over 1,000 matches and brought seven Grand Slam titles across men’s and mixed doubles, 34 ATP [Association of Tennis Professionals] titles, and a spell as the world’s best doubles player (the first Brit to achieve this).

He also combined with Andy to win several crucial doubles ties as GB won the Davis Cup title in 2015 for the first time in 79 years.

Life in Andy's shadow

However, away from the headline statistics, one particularly noteworthy quality seen over the years of Jamie’s career which cannot be measured statistically or rewarded with a trophy is his humility, and apparent willingness to watch his younger sibling take most of the nation’s affection.

Interviews featuring the brothers, and their mother Judy, indicate that Jamie took to tennis more quickly than Andy in childhood. Jamie was the dominant brother in the early days but eventually had to watch on as Andy soared to the heights he did on the singles court - while Jamie forged a successful but much less publicised career in doubles, suddenly leaving him largely in his brother’s shadow.

It is testament to Jamie’s character that he has not become frustrated or bitter about the fact that his younger brother has captured the hearts of the nation, despite the fact that Jamie has won more major and tour doubles titles than any Brit before him in the Open Era.

Speaking about their career paths, Jamie has said: “I've lived in [Andy's] shadow for the whole career, which didn't bother me. I had a good career and he was having a great career. He was competing with the other members of the 'Big Four' [Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - often described as having "defined" men's tennis in the 21st century] and he brought so much interest to the sport with what he was trying to do. I was there doing my stuff as well, just not with the same amount of eyeballs on it."

Humility

It would have been easy for Jamie to become disgruntled that his standing as one of the world’s best doubles players over a long period went somewhat under the radar, but he always appeared supportive of Andy and was often happy to team up with him when possible, with the pair becoming an effective pairing, culminating in several famous Davis Cup triumphs.

That support and camaraderie was clearly reciprocated by Andy, who, after his retirement announcement, described himself as Jamie’s “number one fan”, also noting “how proud we all are of you”.

It feels rare in sport to see people in a similar discipline appear so pleased to see each other doing well, even when one eclipses the other, but what an example Jamie Murray provides for us in a sporting context; one that we can take forward in regular life.

It is so easy to see good things happening to others and think first of what we are not getting ourselves, rather than being pleased that another person has achieved something special. We are called, however, to be humble; we can learn from the way Jamie has moved through his career, not distancing himself from his brother’s greater success, but becoming one of his biggest supporters, while also delighting in rare opportunities that allowed them to combine on the court.

Let’s make sure we also seek to celebrate successes with others and think firstly of them and not ourselves.

What’s more is that such a humble, content approach will bring us greater and deeper joy, even when it is someone else’s achievements we are celebrating.

Jamie Murray enjoyed a brilliant 22-year tennis career which brought titles, relationships and memories galore, even if he did not quite hit the heights of his brother. But perhaps his greatest quality was something that cannot be rewarded with a trophy, and we will do well to learn from it.