WIMBLEDON – Amidst all the hullabaloo over Andy Murray’s advance to his first Wimbledon final, a British/Danish wildcard combination quietly marched through the doubles draw, ending up victorious in the Men’s Doubles Finals.
Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen defeated the established pairing of Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau with a show of sportsmanship along the way, winning 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-7(7), 6-3.
There are some interesting historical links (as if we have not heard enough of them already).
For example, Frederik Nielsen is the grandson of Kurt Nielsen, who was twice a runner up in the Wimbledon Men’s Final (1953 and 1955).
And then there is the magic number 36.
It was in 1936 when a British man lifted the Wimbledon Men’s Doubles trophy, and the partnership was the first to win the Double’s championship on a wildcard entry.
There was an outstanding display of sportsmanship by Marray in the third set tiebreak, where Marray admitted to having followed through a volley, just touching the top of the net.
It had not been picked up by anyone, but Marray owned up to it, although Marray/Nielsen went on to win that set.
Marray’s career had had its up and downs, and at times had thought of giving up.
Marray said: “I felt like I had a bit of unfinished business and things like that, so I’m more than happy to have made the decision to carry on.â€
Marray felt that he and Nielsen could do well, having just missed out on tournament entry with Adil Shamasdin, but having partnered Nielsen previously and having had a good run in Nottingham just before the Championships.
He knew there was a wildcard option and chose Nielsen.
Both players were battling history.
Nielsen said: “I don’t think the fact that my granddad used to do well is going to make it even more special.
“I think the fact that it is just Wimbledon, it carries its name by itself pretty wellâ€
Although having been picked to be on the Great Britain Davis Cup team back in 2004, Marray has not had an opportunity to play in any matches.
Britain has a good pedigree in the doubles currently with the established pairing of Ross Hutchins and Colin Fleming, and Marray’s sometime partner (2009, 2010) of Jamie Murray.
Marray has been keeping an eye on his rankings, and as Wimbledon champions, Marray and Nielsen are waiting to hear if they have gained a position in the World Tour Finals, at the O2, London later this year.
But the more immediate focus is to hope he will be able to get into better tournaments and improve his ranking further.
Ros Satar is a British Journalist- an IT journalist by day, and a sports journalist in all the gaps in between. She is the co-founder of Britwatch Sports (britwatchsports.com). Follow her on twitter at @rfsatar.