So Andy, how is that knee doing?

The Scot, 20, overcame Croatia's former Wimbledon semi-finalist Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4 and as a result should re-enter the world's top 10 when the new rankings come out this morning.

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Last night, his older brother Jamie, who had been scathing about his sibling's decision to skip the World Group match in Buenos Aires, landed his first doubles title alongside new partner Max Mirnyi when they won the final of the ATP event Delray Beach, Florida. He and Belarussian Mirnyi, who has 33 doubles titles to his name, claimed a surprise 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 win over top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan.

It was a welcome return to form Jamie, who also played outstandingly in the doubles rubber against Argentina. It is his first ATP men's doubles title since the Nottingham Open last summer and his debut win alongside the towering Beast of Belarus', having teamed at the beginning of this year.

Back in the south of France, Murray Jnr's victory was the latest episode of an already eventful and undulating year for the British No.1 that has seen a mix of triumph, disappointment and controversy. He began it in superb fashion by winning the Qatar Open, then suffered the huge letdown of losing in the first round of the Australian Open before withdrawing from Britain's match against Argentina in order to protect his unreliable right knee. The idea was also to protect his personal ranking, which is based on a 12-month cycle and under pressure for the next two months after he faded in the latter half of 2007.

His impressive return to form in Marseille goes a long way to justifying his single-minded stance, but it has come at the cost of certain froideur with Jamie, whom he attempted to ring last week with birthday greetings.

In reaching the Florida final, Jamie hinted at a reconciliation but was unrepentant about going public with his criticism about the Davis Cup.

He said: "I was asleep when the call came through but I was pleased to get it. I stand by what I said in Buenos Aires. It was very disappointing for the team that Andy didn't show up. Any chance we had disappeared when he made that decision."

Yet, there is no doubt that Murray Jnr also does his duty for the beleaguered British game by winning matches and tournaments on a consistent basis through the year.

He does not lack character but the next step is for him to play to his immense potential when it matters most — in the Grand Slams and, most people would say, the Davis Cup. For now, he has shown that he is easily capable of lifting silverware on the medium-sized stage and the 534,000 euros Marseille title can be added to San Jose (twice), St Petersburg and Qatar.

Ancic needed a wildcard to get into the main draw due to his falsely low ranking of 135, caused by the fact that he has missed so much tennis in the past 12 months with glandular fever and shoulder and stomach troubles.

He had shown more of the form that once took him to No 7 in the world, but the powerful serve delivered by his 6ft 5in frame was soon defused by Murray, one of the great returners of the modern game.

He broke Ancic in the eighth game but then had to save break-points himself before serving out the first set, aided by the fifth of what were 11 aces in the match. The Scot has been working hard to add more consistency to his own serve, which is potentially a major weapon but still capable of going awry.

It dropped off alarmingly at the start of the second set, allowing the Croat to finally break for 3-1 — he missed nine out of 10 break-points in the match — but Murray immediately broke back and followed it with another break that allowed him to serve out the 112-minute encounter.

"It was really tough, with a lot of close games' said Murray. "Being in the top 10 is one of my goals. I'll try to stay there the whole year."

This week, Andy plays in Rotterdam at the 834,000 euros ABN Amro tournament, armed with a 10-1 record for the year. Given his liking for indoor events — four of his five titles have come under a roof — he will be among the favourites.