WATCH: Why Is It So Hard To Get A Wimbledon Ticket? | The Break

Advertising

Jamie Murray and Taylor Townsend needed nearly two hours to see off their first challenge at Wimbledon on Sunday—and as soon as they sealed a dramatic 7-6 (2), 7-6 (13) victory, they hit the floor for another challenge.

Murray was forced to do push-ups after dumping one of the pair’s six match points into the net with a double fault. And despite playing two matches in one day—Murray also partnered Michael Venus for a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3 win earlier—he gamely accepted his punishment.

“It was punishment for me to keep bloody serving in the net,” Murray told press after the match. “I was blowing it all of the time. She was like, ‘Oh my God, we should do some press-ups.’”

Like a true doubles partner, though, Townsend joined in on the push-ups challenge—and even upstaged Murray by outlasting him on Court 12:

“She did outlast me. I said to her ‘Keep going, I don’t want to fail in front of all of these people,’” Murray added. “I was happy to bow out after 10. I don’t like them.”

The American and British duo have been a regular partnership in 2023, starting the year with a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open. The pair reached the second round at Roland Garros, and are looking to resume their success on Murray’s home turf.

They needed six match points to see off the No. 3 seeds Nicole Melichar Martinez and Jan Zieliński, in a tightly contested 7-6 (2), 7-6 (13) battle. Through to the second round, they will face off against Marta Kostyuk and Marcelo Arevalo on Monday.