Sir Andy Murray does not know if this was the last time he will grace the tennis court with his brother Jamie but he insists he will savour every moment as if it is.
There was nothing other than pride at stake by the time the Murray brothers took to the court but it did not matter to the Aberdeen public as Sir Andy and Jamie took centre stage in the Schroders Battle of the Brits finale.
Three wins in a row meant England could not be caught by Scotland at P&J Live but it did not take the shine off the rare – and possibly final – appearance of the Murray brothers together on a tennis court in Scotland.
Sir Andy hopes that is not the case.
He said: “I certainly hope it’s not the case but we need to treat these moments like we might not get the opportunity again because we’re getting on a bit and you never know what is round the corner.
“It has been amazing. Jamie has put on a brilliant event with the team behind the scenes and it means a lot to both of us that so many players showed up and competed well to create a great event.
“We’re really thankful to them for doing that for us.”
For Jamie, who has also been tournament director for the event, getting to play with his brother one more time was a moment to savour.
He said: “It was awesome. We had a great two days, three awesome sessions. It was great to play in Scotland and to finish off the event playing with Andy was really special.”
Brothers fired up for the big finale
Tennis fans have backed Scotland all the way but always remained respectful of the opposition throughout the three sessions.
But there was little doubt the final match was the one everyone had been waiting for. Emotions as well as the volume, ran high against Neal Skupski and Dan Evans.
Every point won by the boys in blue was greeted with thunderous cheers and it was clear there was a different feel to the finale of the event.
England broke Scotland in the opening game. The Murray brothers responded in the most emphatic manner possible as they won the next five games in a row.
Evans and Skupski broke back to stop the rot but it was only delaying the inevitable as Scotland clinched the first set 6-3.
Cue a big smile from Jamie along with fist bumps and aggressive nods of the head from former Wimbledon champion Andy.
Pumped up? You had better believe it.
The brothers wasted no time in closing out victory in the second set.
Two terrific forehands broke England to give the Scots a 2-1 lead and that proved the difference as the Murrays went on to win the second set 6-4 to win the match and make a more respectable final scoreline of England 8, Scotland 4.
Evans, who beat Sir Andy in their afternoon singles match, played down light-hearted suggestions recording a double on the final day was not in his best interests.
He said: “I’m leaving tonight so we were trying, I promise. It wouldn’t be as good without everybody here packing it out. It’s been amazing.
“There is no better preparation than to be out here competing in front of a big crowd.”
Players appreciative of Jamie Murray’s efforts in staging the event
For Evans’ partner Skupski, there was one last chance to thank Jamie for putting on the event – and to tease the Murray’s Scottish team-mate Jonny O’Mara.
He said: “It is nice to win but it is great to get some matches before we go out to Australia. Everyone competed hard, it was an amazing effort from everyone, including Jonny O’Mara.
“It’s been an amazing achievement from Jamie to put this on and hopefully we can do it again sometime in the future.”
The Murray brothers’ hopes of producing a fairytale comeback had been scuppered before they took to the court for the final match as Paul Jubb secured victory for England with a straight sets win against Aidan McHugh.
McHugh was the firm underdog against Jubb, who was 154 places higher in the world rankings than the Scot and the gulf was ruthlessly exposed by the Englishman.
Jubb needed little more than half an hour to take the first set, breaking his opponent twice as he raced into a 4-0 lead before closing out the set 6-2.
The 23-year-old repeated the feat in the second set, breaking his opponent twice before securing a 6-2, 6-2 victory with an ace.
Jubb was delighted not just at picking up the three points to secure overall victory but also to be part of the event organised by Jamie.
He said: “I’m super thrilled to clinch it and bring it home.
“We played a month ago and it was three tight sets but today I was ruthless from the start, didn’t give him an inch, and did it the whole way.
“Jamie has done amazing, the crowd here has been electric, and he has looked after us all phenomenally. Well done to Jamie.”
The win for Jubb gave England an unassailable 8-1 lead, leaving the Murray brothers with nothing except pride to play for against Evans and Skupski in the final match of the night.
But that same pride saw them deliver in style to send the Aberdeen crowd home with smiles on their faces.
Perhaps we should, like the Murrays, savour every moment as if it will be their last.
Conversation