U.S. Doubles Brothers Win French Title

Luke and Murphy Jensen, brothers from Ludington, Mich., won the French Open doubles title Saturday, then turned their attention to the Davis Cup.

Luke Jensen said he and Murphy would love to play for the United States against the Bahamas in the Bahamas.

Luke was told the match would be played in the United States.

“Could we change that?” he asked.

The free-spirited brother team, unseeded in the French Open, defeated another unseeded team, Mark Goellner and David Prinosil of Germany, 6-4, 6-7 (7-4), 6-4, in the final.

The only other brothers to win the French Open are Gene and Sandy Mayer in 1979.

“I’m in dreamland right now,” said Luke, 26.

“We’ll never forget this the rest of our lives. We dreamed of winning the French Open. Nothing will top this.”

Murphy Jensen, 24, said he told U.S. Davis Cup captain Tom Gorman in March that he and Luke wanted to be included on the American team. Murphy said Gorman listened.

“But he was laughing,” Luke said.

The new champions are taking two weeks off before Wimbledon and going back home to Ludington, a resort town of about 10,000, two hours north of Grand Rapids. Murphy said there are four tennis courts in Ludington, one at the Jensen house. Once they get home, Murphy said they plan on doing little except riding their motorcycles.

“Hopefully we won’t kill ourselves,” Luke said.

The Jensens said they plan on doing well at Wimbledon, where they probably won’t be as unknown as they were in Paris. Anyway, they hope for the best on grass.

Asked what their best surface is, Luke had a quick answer: “I’d say clay, right now.”