JAMIE Murray beat the crowds with an early morning Tube journey into the o2 arena yesterday then stole a march on his opposition at the ATP Tour finals. On his maiden appearance at the glitzy, end-of-season event, the 29-year-old and his Aussie partner John Peers, who will go their separate ways at the end of this year, were 7-6, 3-6, (11-9) winners against Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini. It means that the Scottish/Australian partnership could yet sign off as both Tour Champions and the No 1 doubles pairing in the world.

While all players wore black ribbons as a mark of solidarity towards the victims of the Paris terrorism attacks, Murray - who will play in 2016 with Brazil's Bruno Soares - said from a player's point of view he hadn't been slowed down by the enhanced security measures, enforced in the wake of Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed 129 people. "I just took the Tube here, walked in, showed my credential, that's it," said Jamie. "I don't know if they've changed anything or not. I haven't been aware of it. The ribbons are a bit of solidarity, to show we're supporting the cause."

Both Murray siblings will have to get used to such measures, with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) admitting last night that safety precautions will also be ramped up for next weekend's Davis Cup final in Ghent. Jamie, Andy, the remainder of the Great Britain team and an estimated 1,000 British fans will show up there next week hoping to win the team tennis event for the first time since 1936, but the ITF have had little choice but to tighten up security given Belgian links to the atrocity in Paris. Police detained three people from the Brussels area of Molenbeek in the wake of the incidents, with two Belgian-registered cars also believed to be involved.

"Following the tragic events over the last few weeks, all sporting events require heightened levels of security and this includes both the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas and Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals," said ITF President David Haggerty. "For our Finals and other ITF events, we follow a rigorous process that includes regular consultation with our experts to ensure that we take every precaution to safeguard our events, fans and players."

Jamie meanwhile, threw his weight behind Aljaz Bedene's selection for the second singles rubber in the Davis Cup final, in the event that an ITF panel clears him to play in the tie. The Slovenian-born Bedene now has British citizenship and, as World No 46, is clearly Britain's second best singles player. He featured in three dead rubbers for Slovenia between 2010 and 2012, but before rules were changed to prevent players appearing for two different countries. "On Wednesday, if he gets the green light, if he does get selected, I'll welcome him with open arms," said Jamie. "I'm sure he'll be a valued member of the team."