Scotland’s Jamie Murray and his partner, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, delighted the Centre Court crowd with a thrilling 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory against fifth seeds Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Alicia Molik of Australia in the mixed doubles final.
Murray became the first Brit to win a Wimbledon title since Jeremy Bates and Jo Durie lifted the mixed trophy 20 years ago in 1987, 10 years after Virginia Wade's triumph in the women's singles.
The Scottish/Serb pair came into the final with every reason for optimism, having seen off four seeded pairs on route but faced a tough prospect in the experienced pairing of Bjorkman and Molik. They make a fearsome doubles pairing, holding an impressive 57 career doubles titles between them.
Bjorkman, now a 35-year-old veteran, has 50 career doubles titles under his belt, and 26-year-old Molik came into Wimbledon fresh from winning the ladies’ doubles title at Roland Garros earlier this month to add to the one she won at the Australian Open in 2005.
Murray had insisted he and Jankovic would take the carefree attitude they had displayed throughout their previous games into the final and their on-court chemistry was clearly visible.
The match got off to a nerve-racking start, with the server being put under constant pressure in the opening three games. First up it was Bjorkman who was immediately tested, saving the first break point of the match with an ace to hold on to his serve.
Murray then found himself a break point down and the Swede converted their first chance, hitting a solid volley down the middle to break the Scotsman and take a 2-0 lead. Molik was unable to retain the advantage for long as she too was broken and Jankovic finally restored order, serving out to love to level at 2-2.
The games continued to go with serve until the ninth game, with Jankovic hitting a clean winner down the line off the Bjorkman serve to give them another break point that Murray converted with a sublime lob over Molik. The Scotsman, serving for the set, hit a 125mph ace to give them two set points, with Jankovic forcing the error from Molik to take a 6-4 lead with 40 minutes played.
Bjorkman and Molik fought back to take control of the second set, breaking Jankovic in the fourth game and Murray in the sixth and Bjorkman was left to serve out the set. The Swedish/Australian pair stamped their authority on the match with a clever mix of searing ground strokes and quick net volleys. Bjorkman levelled the match, taking the third set point with a winning smash down the centre.
With the match level, you could feel the tension amongst the crowd. Murray remained calm, holding serve, and it was Bjorkman who was once again put under pressure as he was broken to love. The game then continued to follow serve until the sixth game when Bjorkman was broken for the second time, leaving Jankovic to serve for the match. The 22-year-old kept her composure to serve out magnificently, taking the first of three match points to earn the pair their first grand slam title.
Both Judy Murray and Andy Murray were courtside to cheer on the pair as they proudly watched Jamie lift the trophy.
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