Murray brothers excel in Washington

Andy and Jamie Murray had three match points in the second set tiebreak prior to making amends in style

Andy Murray reunited with his brother Jamie to continue his doubles odyssey with a high-quality victory at the Citi Open in Washington.

The duo, who formed a pivotal partnership during Great Britain’s Davis Cup triumph in 2015, joined forces once again to defeat Wimbledon finalists Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 10-5 after one hour and 51 minutes.

Andy Murray revealed earlier this week he was nearing a return to singles and the former world No 1 impressed again in his fourth tournament appearance – and first on a hard court – since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in January.

The family pairing were teaming up in a tour-level event for the first time since Indian Wells in 2013 but entertained the crowd present for the first-round encounter.

The doubles opener was almost a year on from when Murray was reduced to tears after finishing a fourth-round singles match in Washington at 03:02 local time.

The Murray brothers played with different partners at Wimbledon with Jamie partnering Neal Skupski as Andy teamed up with Pierre-Hugues Herbert

Jamie Murray was the first player to face pressure on his serve as the two-time Grand Slam doubles champion saved two break points in the third game.

The French pairing then came through a battling hold of their own, saving three break points on the Roger-Vasselin serve.

An excellent service return winner from Andy Murray brought up three set points in the 10th game on the Mahut serve and they secured it at the first opportunity.

Both partnerships excelled at the net, with Andy Murray showing particularly good reflexes with his volleys, and Roger-Vasselin was forced to remain alert to save a break point in the sixth game of the second set.

They were playing together competitively for the first time since a Davis Cup tie against Argentina in 2016

Resolute serving from the French duo brought up a tiebreak, which saw both teams share early mini-breaks, before Andy Murray brought up two match points with an excellent forehand return.

Both were saved, the second of which came on Andy Murray’s serve, and after a third chance slipped by, the contest was forced into a match tiebreak.

A mistimed forehand winner from Roger-Vasselin gave the French team the advantage before a Mahut winner down the line secured a second point against the Jamie Murray serve to open a 5-2 lead.

But the Murray brothers responded with aplomb as they won both points against the Mahut and then the Roger-Vasselin serve to win eight points in a row to complete a brilliant victory.

They will next face either third seeds Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus or German pairing Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies.