At Citi Open, Andy Murray and brother Jamie ready for doubles play

Andy Murray and older brother Jamie have been training for their doubles appearance in Washington this week, their first doubles event together for more than three years.

It was Jamie Murray who approached Andy about playing.

"I was always looking for someone to play with in Washington so it's great that Andy is able to do it," he wrote in a column for BBC Sport.

Jamie, a doubles specialist, preferred to play with his regular partner, Neal Skupski, during the grass-court season while Andy was starting his comeback from hip surgery. But when Skupski's three-week commitment to playing WorldTeam Tennis left Jamie looking for a partner for Washington, Andy was the obvious choice.

"We practiced together on Wednesday and we will do more when we get to Washington," said Jamie.

"We tend to go through a few strategies and positioning, mainly for Andy's benefit because he's not as used to playing doubles. Recently, he's obviously become more committed to it and he's a great player who reads the game so well, so I have to just let him be him and play the game that he knows best."

The siblings have been training for their first doubles event together for more than three years​ (Getty Images)

Washington will be the fourth doubles event of Andy's comeback, which began by winning the doubles at the Queen's Club with Feliciano Lopez. He played with Marcelo Melo in Eastbourne and Pierre-Hugues Herbert at Wimbledon, where the 32-year-old also played with Serena Williams in the mixed doubles. However, he is most experienced playing with his brother, Jamie.

The pair have a tough first round against Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who just reached the final of Wimbledon. But according to Jamie, they can at least take advantage of their sibling relationship.

"We know each other's games and I guess, because we are brothers, we are able to communicate that bit better and have more honesty than other partnerships," he said. "It's all fun, I'm really looking forward to it."

The Murray brothers have won two doubles titles as a team.