A week after the Williams sisters carved up the final niceties on the women’s tour, the Murray brothers bestrode the winners’ podiums at a telling juncture in their respective careers.

Andy, who had rested his injured wrist for six weeks, returned refreshed to land his sixth singles title of the year on a Spanish hard court; Jamie ventured to far-flung Kazakhstan and won his fourth ATP Challenger doubles title in as many months.

As their years of plenty and occasional doses of pain come to a close — the BNP Paribas Masters at the Palais Omnisports represents the last but one special occasion of the men’s tour — there is a profound buoyancy in the Murray ranks. The world No 4 had said that he would not be surprised if he played poorly at the Valencia Open, his first event since the Davis Cup tie against Poland in Liverpool in September, but he finished up spraying champagne over his support team.

Jamie, for his part, had struggled to put two wins together on the doubles circuit for half of the year and was at one of his lowest ebbs until he eschewed the landmark tour names and returned to his roots. Playing with great fervour — and no doubt an awful lot of enjoyment — he has won two titles each with Jamie Delgado and Jonny Marray, his fellow Britons.

What happens to the brothers will be of marked importance to the British game in 2010, not least the nation’s chance of righting the wrong of relegation to the Europe / Africa Zone II of the Davis Cup.

As Andy flies to the French capital this morning with another trophy in storage, there is almost a discernible rosiness in his cheeks.

He defeated Mikhail Youzhny, of Russia, the world No 23, 6-3, 6-2 in 68 minutes yesterday to become the champion in Valencia, a tournament that used to be played on clay in the spring and has reinvented itself as a hard-court event at a gleaming, state-of-the-art facility. Murray does not have a clay-court title in his portfolio but it will happen one day.

Six in a year is not to be sniffed at. If he makes it seven in Paris — dare one think eight at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 arena in southeast London this month? — he would enjoy a rare momentum heading into the new year. The field in Paris is one of the strongest for many a year, and Murray knows that his fellow leading lights have much to gain by lifting themselves for one more monumental week’s effort.

Novak Djokovic has been playing like a dervish since the US Open, winning in Beijing, reaching the semifinals in Shanghai and yesterday, in the final of Basle, ending Roger Federer’s hopes of four successive victories in his home-town tournament by taking the final in three sets.

If Rafael Nadal produces something akin to a miracle and wins both in Paris and London — and one is loath to use the word “impossible” in the Spaniard’s case — he will still have played at least ten matches fewer this year than in either 2007 or 2008, which underlines the impact both the concerns with tendinitis and abdominal strains have had on his year. Then there is Juan Martín del Potro, the Argentinian who won the US Open in September but was left emotionally spent by the achievement.

Murray is in the same section as Del Potro, Radek Stepanek, of the Czech Republic, and Fernando González, of Chile, the latter two of whom have a glimmer of a chance of making the eight-man field for the 02.

The British No 1 certainly arrives in a groove. “I honestly did not have high expectations but it turned into a very, very good week for me,” Murray said. “It is rare for someone to win a tournament straightaway after such a long break and I’m happy that I managed to come back from injury so well. I was hitting the ball better as the week went on.”

In the first round, he faces James Blake, the American, in a repeat of the final of the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club in June.

Contenders for London

Two places are left in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and seven players still have an opportunity to reach London. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martín del Potro and Andy Roddick have already qualified. Those in contention are . . .

1 Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) The runner-up to Djokovic in last year’s Masters Cup would need an unlikely confluence of results to deny him a place at the 02 arena.

2 Fernando Verdasco (Spain) After reaching the semi-finals of Valencia last week, the left-hander has a healthy 380-point lead over Robin Söderling, who is in ninth place, and is almost home.

3 Robin Söderling (Sweden) Withdrew from his home tournament in Stockholm the week before last with an elbow injury and will need to make the final this week to keep his London chances alive.

4 Fernando González (Chile) The big-hitting Chilean saw his opportunity take a potentially decisive blow when he lost to John Isner, the tall American, in the first round of Basle last week. Needs to reach the Paris final to keep in the running.

5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) Last year’s champion in Paris will need to repeat that electric performance before his home crowd to maintain his hopes of playing at the 02.

6 Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) Had three match points against Djokovic in the semi-finals of Basle last week but could not take them and will have to win in Paris to sustain his slim chances.

7 Marin Cilic (Croatia) Murray’s conqueror at the US Open has had a great end-of-year spurt but would need to win the title in Paris to keep his hopes alive.