Tennis champ Jamie Murray praises dad over ‘vital role’ in rise to stardom with brother Andy

JAMIE Murray has praised his dad for playing a vital role in his rise to tennis stardom with brother Andy.

The doubles champ hinted Willie, 64, did not receive the same recognition for their success as coach mum Judy and said his father had raised them “as much” as their mother.

Jamie, 33, told telly host Lorraine Kelly how Willie had taxied them to competitions and handled their kit cleaning after the marriage breakdown when he and Andy were kids.

He added: “My mum’s in tennis and she’s in the public eye but my dad was there for us and raised us as much as my mum.

“We lived with him when they separated when we were younger. He did a lot of the ferrying around for us at tournaments. He did all the washing and ironing — all the fun stuff I’m sure he enjoyed. He’s obviously in the background but he’s a great dad to us and still is today.”

Jamie later thanked Lorraine as he agreed that Judy, 59 — a former Fed Cup captain who starred on Strictly — has accomplished “great work” in her career.

Like brother Andy, Jamie was joined by both his parents when he collected an OBE at Buckingham Palace for services to sport and charity.

Jamie picked up his gong in 2016 — three years after Andy, now 32, got the same honour.

Andy’s knighthood — which will be presented at Buckingham Palace today — was announced months later. But Jamie revealed he doesn’t call his little brother by his new title.

He said: “He’s never forced that upon me yet. Sometimes I get mail to the house and it says ‘Sir Andy Murray’. It’s weird seeing it.”

Jamie, who has bagged six Grand Slam doubles titles, spoke out as he promoted his new YouTube channel offering advice to starlets — covering a range of tips including nutrition and how to play better doubles.

He said: “It’s a unique lifestyle we live as tennis players and I wanted to give fans an insight into that.

“You see them walk on to the court but you don’t see what goes in to getting them onto the court.

“There will be instructional videos for tutorials. It’s free and people can do it at their own pace. Hopefully the videos will be for all ages.”