Brotherly love was at a shortage last week between the two Murray brothers, with jabs exchanged across two hemispheres before reconciliation took place on Friday.
The crossfire began when the elder Murray, Jamie, lashed out in the media against his more famous sibling’s last-minute withdrawal from Great Britain’s first round Davis Cup tie against Argentina, their first time in the World Group in five years.
Murray announced on his website that he would not be making the journey to Buenos Aires, but did not officially make a statement, leaving that messy task to his agent. The decision took everyone by surprise, including the team captain, John Lloyd, as well as the rest of the squad.
“I was shocked because I spoke to him the day before he was due to fly out and he didn’t mention anything,” Murray said of his brother.
“It was a shock to me and I think for the team; it’s also very disappointing. It’s a shame that he decided that it was best for him not to come here. It kind of affects how I feel about him.
"It’s disappointing that he chose not to come.”
It appears that the Scottish No. 1 was attempting to avoid injury to his suspect knee, which he aggravated during training sessions in the off-season. Five set grind fests on clay against the likes of David Nalbandian and company were too much to ask, apparently.
But the effort would have been worthwhile, Jamie Murray believed.
“I think from what I’ve heard he hasn’t actually said he was injured, it was more of a preventative thing. If he really wanted to push himself, he really could have come here to play the tie.”
And Nalbandian’s comments did nothing to extinguish the heated words.
“If Murray had come, the tie would have had a special taste because if you come with a top player, your opponents respect you more. You look at them with a different eye. The match was easy because of the level of our opponents. With Murray, it would have been totally different,” he said, adding truthful fuel to the fire.
Once the comments crossed the pond to France, where Murray was playing at the Open 13 in Marseille, they did not sit well with the fiery Scot, saying that he found his brother’s words “a little bit disappointing” before adding the following zinger.
“He obviously felt pretty strongly about [my decision not to play] and he's entitled to his opinion.
"If he knew what it was like playing three five-set matches in a row on clay, then maybe he'd understand my position a little bit better.”
The brothers, who are two years apart in age, are very close, sharing a home in Southwest London, watching each other’s matches intently, and even teaming up in doubles play at times, making the riff even more newsworthy in the eyes of the unforgiving British media.
But Lloyd managed to settle things, citing that Andy Murray had already committed to playing in the World Group playoffs, where Britain has now been relegated after its 4-1 thrashing, and that the situation was merely a common squabble among siblings.
“They have a great relationship--you only have to look at the way Andy reacts when Jamie is playing. He’s more nervous than anyone.
"That’s what being brothers is about. You’re going to have a few little niggles but the bottom line is we’re all going to be fine.”
The younger Murray, whose on-court performances were not affected by the spat, took the initiative and rang his brother to reconcile. “I called Jamie for his birthday,” he said after his quarterfinal win over Nicolas Mahut in Marseille. He went on to win the title over Mario Ancic days later.
The duo will reunite next month in Indian Wells, California at the first Masters Series event of the 2008 season.
The Bryans should take note: a little sibling drama does wonders for publicity.