Jamie Murray teams up with Liezel Huber for Wimbledon title tilt (just don't mention she called him English)

Murray's hopes of defending the title at the All England Club with Jankovic were dashed when the women's world number three from Serbia decided not to risk her fitness in the event.  

Murray and Jankovic's whirlwind partnership provided one of the highlights of last year's championship - and gave Britain a grand slam champion for the first time in two decades.  

Paris match: Jamie Murray and Liezel Huber teamed up at the French Open

"Jelena's having problems with her arm and will just concentrate on the singles at Wimbledon," said Murray. "It would have been good to defend the title but it is not the end of the world. I half-expected it."  

After Wimbledon, Murray teamed up with the Durban-born Huber and they reached the semi-finals of the US Open last September, the third round of the Australian Open and the last eight of the recent French Open.  

But Huber , who with husband Tony owns a tennis ranch in Texas, described the 22-year-old Scot as "a proper Englishman" and is trying to persuade him to be less polite to opposing females on the court. 

"He's very laid back whereas I'm planned so it's a good mix," she said. "But he could crash the ball at the girls more. He's a bit nice to them, a proper Englishman. I try to encourage him not to be nice to girls."

The 31-year-old, who has changed her allegiance to the United States and discovered yesterday she has been chosen in their Olympics team, says she would have been willing to step aside for Jankovic.  

"It would have been OK with me - there are other guys I could play with - but I kind of assumed we would play the whole year," said Huber, who is competing this week at the DFS Classic in Birmingham.  

"I think we are a team that should win titles. Unfortunately, we drew strong opponents at the French Open but he's a great player and should be a contender at all tournaments."  

Huber, who won last year's Wimbledon women's doubles title with Caro Black, said her partnership with Murray was the result of a chance conversation in the men's locker room at Flushing Meadow between Murray and Black's husband Brett Stevens. 

"I had played with Kevin Ullyett before but I was looking for somebody else and Jamie asked Caro's husband if I had a partner," she said. "I had never met him before, I didn't even know he was left-handed when we went on court."