Jamie Murray is a man on a mission. Still basking in the glow of his country’s Davis Cup glory last weekend, the Briton is already looking ahead to what could be an even better 2016.

After making the decision to part ways with Australian John Peers at the end of the season, Murray is now focused on finding even more success with former World No. 3 Bruno Soares of Brazil.

“He’s a very experienced player and he’s been at the top of the doubles game for quite a while now,” Murray told The Tennis Podcast this week in London. “I play in the deuce court so I wanted to find someone that was playing in the ad court and Bruno is one of the best in the world on that side. He’s got one of the best returns in the world, and I haven’t really played with a steady returner yet in my career. I thought that those aspects would really match up well with my playing style.”

Having both fallen in their previous Grand Slam final appearances, their mutual goal is clear.

“I think for both of us, our goal, however long the partnership lasts, will be to try to win a Grand Slam doubles title,” Murray said. “Of course you go into every partnership with the best of intentions, and every partnership is different, but we’ll work hard for it.”

This past season was undoubtedly a breakthrough year for Murray, reaching two Grand Slam finals and making his debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, before crowning the campaign with Great Britain’s historic triumph in Ghent alongside young brother, Andy.

“It’s been my best year by an absolute mile,” said Murray. “I had a great year with John Peers. We got to the final of Wimbledon and the final of the US Open. I finished the year 7th in the world and we finished 4th in the [Emirates ATP Doubles] team rankings so we got to play at the [Barclays ATP World Tour] Finals for the first time, which was awesome. Then obviously the Davis Cup throughout the whole year has been an incredible experience, topped off in Ghent at the weekend.”

It’s only days since the Murray brothers united to secure victory in the crucial doubles rubber for Great Britain in the Davis Cup final against Belgium, and it’s clear that emotions are still running high.

“It was intense,” said Murray. “I did feel nervous, but it wasn’t actually too bad. I was really looking forward to playing because for me, growing up as a kid, that is what you wanted to do – play in big stadiums in front of a lot of people. I wouldn’t say I played my best ever tennis match, but we focused as hard as we could, tried to just play one point at a time and thankfully we got over the finish line.”

This week, Murray joined up with another legend of the game, seven-time Grand Slam Champion and fellow Davis Cup winner, Mats Wilander, in an exhibition doubles match at the Champions Tennis at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

“It is nice to play with those guys, they are all legends of the game,” said Murray. “It’s been cool to play at the Royal Albert Hall with it being such an iconic venue. You never normally associate it with sports, so it is something different and very cool.”

Next up for Murray is an off-season training in Dubai, where Andy will also be gearing up for the 2016 season.

“Andy will be in Dubai at the same time, but I probably won’t train with him. I’m going with my coach Alan McDonald and Colin Fleming is coming out as well. We’ll probably focus on more doubles specific stuff, and I’ll leave Andy to do the hard work. I can’t honestly claim to train as hard as Andy does. I think from a doubles point of view, it’s a lot more about short, sharp explosive stuff, and not so much about endurance, because you don’t really need it in doubles now with the scoring system on the ATP World Tour.”

New partner Soares is spending the off-season with his family in Brazil, but the pair are planning to make their debut as a team in Doha at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

“I know that a lot of hard work has to go into making a partnership work. I hope that we’re both ready to do that and obviously I hope that we can hit the ground running.”

2. Stan Wawrinka d. Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, Roland Garros final
Novak Djokovic was on a date with destiny. Only seven players – three in the Open Era – had completed the career Grand Slam by winning all four majors, and the World No. 1 was one match win from cementing his place in the club when he squared off against Stan Wawrinka in the Roland Garros final.

The Serb had routed nine-time champion Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals and fended off a late charge from third seed Andy Murray in the semis. With Roger Federer also eliminated, the stars appeared to be aligned. Djokovic was on the doorstep of history, but an inspired Wawrinka stood tall. The Swiss captured a second Grand Slam championship, denying Djokovic on the terre battue.

Wawrinka was rewarded for playing lights-out tennis for much of the three-hour, 12-minute contest. He struck 59 winners, almost twice as many as Djokovic, and never let his head drop as the Serb relentlessly fended off break points. After rallying from 0/40 down in the eighth game of the fourth set – having already been a break down – Wawrinka fired a backhand winner to break Djokovic and served out the contest, saving a break point before finishing with another lethal backhand.

“I’m still surprised the way I played, because I think I played amazing today,” said Wawrinka. “I was really nervous, but I didn’t really choke. I was always going for my shots, always going for the right play. I was trying to have longer rallies, trying to play more deep, trying to play more aggressive from baseline, and little by little, I started to be the player inside the court.”

The Lausanne native added to the Australian Open crown he won in January 2014 (d. Nadal), making him just the sixth active player to win multiple major titles. The 30-year-old Wawrinka, who won the boys’ singles title in Paris in 2003 (d. Baker), became the first former junior champion to lift the men’s singles trophy since Mats Wilander in 1988. It was the third time that Djokovic, who was moved to tears during the trophy ceremony, had finished runner-up in Paris, having fallen to Nadal in the 2012 and 2014 finals.

“You go through emotions,” Djokovic added. “Of course I was more nervous than any other match. It’s the final of Roland Garros. We both were aware of the importance of this match, and that’s why you tend to have these particular situations. But at least I’m proud of the fight that I put into this match. I tried my best. It wasn’t to be.”

1. Fabio Fognini d. Rafael Nadal 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, US Open third round
In one of the more drama-filled rivalries of the 2015 season, sparks flew whenever Rafael Nadal and Fabio Fognini squared off this year. The Italian dethroned the Spaniard in Rio de Janeiro and upset Nadal on his home soil in Barcelona months later, before the former World No. 1 exacted revenge in the Hamburg final. Their sudden rivalry would reach a thrilling climax in September, on the hard courts of the US Open.

With Tiger Woods in attendance, under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, Fognini produced a stunning comeback win from two sets down that sent shockwaves throughout Flushing Meadows. He fired 70 winners to reach the Round of 16 in the early hours of the middle Saturday in New York, with the match finishing around 1:30am. Fognini’s dazzling shot-making ended Nadal’s streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title a year for 10 straight years.

Nadal had been a perfect 151-0 at Grand Slam level after winning the first two sets, while Fognini’s record of winning from two sets down at the majors was 4-19. He had never beaten a Top 10 player on hard courts in 17 previous attempts.

After dropping the first two sets, Fognini turned in one of the most breathtaking shot-making displays of the year. He clubbed forehand and backhand winners from all parts of the court with exquisite timing. He also attacked the net regularly, winning 39 of 52 approaches. In a rollercoaster final set, the players held their opening serves but then exchanged seven consecutive breaks before Fognini served out the match from 5-4.

“With Rafa you have to try something different,” said Fognini. “It’s not easy. It is a really special win. If you want to play against him and if you want to do something different, you have to take risks. That’s the only thing. Probably I made a lot of unforced errors, but it doesn’t matter. You have to do that with a great player who runs a lot on the baseline.”

“He played great,” Nadal said. “It was not a match that I lost, even if I had opportunities. It’s a match that he won. So I accept that.”

More: Best Grand Slam & Davis Cup Matches Of 2015 Nos. 5-3

Former British No. 1 Tim Henman overcame James Blake 4-6, 6-2, 12-10 to kick off the Champions Tennis 2015 in exhilarating style at the Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday.

The meeting between the two former World No. Fours was only their second ever, with the first coming more than 13 years ago in Toronto, a match won by the Briton in straight sets. The long-awaited re-match did not disappoint, as the clash of styles produced by baseliner Blake and serve volleyer Henman resulted in some breathtaking rallies.

Blake drew first blood, clinching the opening set with a single break of the Henman serve. But the 41-year-old Henman struck back decisively, delivering some delectable volley winners to seal the second set and force a deciding Champions Tie Break, in which the Brit saved three match points before surging back to steal victory.

The thrilling conclusion to the match can be seen here.

Henman now sits atop Group A, while defending Champion Fernando Gonzalez has placed himself in poll position in Group B after defeating Belgian Xavier Malisse 7-6, 6-4 earlier in the day.

Another highlight of Wednesday’s play at the Royal Albert Hall was the appearance of British Davis Cup hero Jamie Murray. The Scotsman was welcomed onto court for his opening doubles match crowd by a standing ovation from the Champions Tennis crowd, who were then delighted to see him reunited with his miniature replica Davis Cup winner’s trophy, which had originally been presented to him in Ghent on Sunday.

Murray then took to the court partnering fellow Davis Cup Champions Mats Wilander in a doubles exhibition match against Henri Leconte and Magnus Larsson.

5. Richard Gasquet d. Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9, Wimbledon quarter-finals
Stan Wawrinka entered Wimbledon on the heels of his monumental victory at Roland Garros, halting Novak Djokovic’s date with career Grand Slam destiny. The Swiss would dispel any notion of an emotional hangover after clinching his second major title, wasting no time in streaking to the quarter-finals at the All England Club without dropping a set.

In their third FedEx ATP Head2Head clash, Wawrinka took a two-sets-to-one lead against No. 21 seed Richard Gasquet and the stars appeared to be aligned for a rematch against Djokovic in the semis. Gasquet had lost an 8-6 fifth set to Wawrinka in their most recent meeting two years ago at Roland Garros, but refused to suffer the same fate despite failing to serve out the match at 5-3 in the decisive set and being a break point down at 9-all.

Gasquet had reached the last four at a Grand Slam on only two previous occasions, including Wimbledon 2007, but the Frenchman would complete the comeback after a marathon fifth set.

Wawrinka earned a break chance at 9-9, 30/40, but could not deliver. He made a trio of errors in the next game to bring up triple match point for Gasquet. The Frenchman converted on his third opportunity to seal victory after three hours and 28 minutes, falling to the No. 1 Court grass in celebration as he booked his return to the semis.

One year earlier, Gasquet had been on the wrong end of a Wimbledon heart-breaker, losing 10-8 in the fifth to Nick Kyrgios in the second round after blowing nine match points.

“It was a great match, playing the winner of Roland Garros in a quarter-final of a Grand Slam, so I needed to keep focused and to fight,” said Gasquet, who would eventually fall in straight sets to Djokovic. “Of course, it’s a very nice victory for me to win against him 11-9 in the fifth. It’s great.”

4. Leonardo Mayer d. Joao Souza 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 5-7, 5-7, 15-13, Davis Cup first round
Argentina and Brazil are two of the fiercest international rivals in all of sport and their border battle would live up to the hype in the Davis Cup first round. Leonardo Mayer and Joao Souza supplied the drama with a pulsating six-hour and 43-minute marathon as the Argentines faced elimination entering Sunday’s reverse singles.

A win for Mayer and the tie would extend to deciding rubber, while victory for Souza would put Brazil through to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2001. What would ensue would be the longest singles match in Davis Cup history and the second-longest tour-level singles match, behind only John Isner and Nicolas Mahut’s legendary 11-hour battle at Wimbledon 2010. With countryman Juan Martin del Potro in attendance, Mayer would survive a dogged effort by Souza 15-13 in the fifth set in the fading sunlight in Buenos Aires. He converted his 11th match point, firing 16 aces and 89 winners, while overcoming 134 unforced errors. In total, Mayer won 244 points to Souza’s 233.

“I couldn’t feel prouder of him,” said captain Daniel Orsanic. “What he did today is amazing, not only for the way they both played tennis. It goes beyond that. His spirit, his effort. He played with cramps for such a long time. What he’s just experienced back there is amazing. His family, himself, they cannot be [any] prouder. They have to be really happy with that achievement. Then for us, it was a very important point because it keeps us alive, and now we’re playing the fifth.”

Mayer exacted revenge on Souza after the Brazilian prevailed in the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour 250 event in Sao Paulo just three weeks prior. Federico Delbonis would complete the comeback a day later for Argentina, defeating Thomaz Bellucci in four sets to send the nation through to the next round.

3. Roger Federer d. Andy Murray 7-5, 7-5, 6-4, Wimbledon semi-finals
Seven times a champion on the lawns of the All England Club, Roger Federer has made many memories at the Wimbledon Championships. With no shortage of jaw-dropping performances over the years, the Swiss maestro added to his sparkling résumé at the grass-court Grand Slam in the semi-finals of the 2015 edition.

Andy Murray played a great match, but Federer turned in a majestic serving and shotmaking display. In reaching an unprecedented 10th Wimbledon final, he became the oldest men’s finalist since Ken Rosewall in 1974. The second seed fired 56 winners and 20 aces, winning a sterling 84 per cent of first-serve points and saving the lone break point faced.

“He served fantastic,” said Murray. “I didn’t really have any opportunities. That puts pressure on you. The pressure builds throughout the set that way. Obviously I got broken right at the end of all of the sets. But I didn’t actually play a bad match. I played pretty well.”

“I’ve been serving very well for the entire tournament,” Federer reflected. “I wasn’t broken against one of the best returners. I kept the pressure up and went for my shots. I mixed it up like I usually do and kept pushing forward and staying focused. It all worked out really well.”

Federer would eventually fall to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final, which was a record 26th title match at the major level. He would add a 27th final two months later at the US Open.

Coming Thursday: The 2 Best Grand Slam Matches of 2015