Saturday 25 January 2020 10:58, UK
Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski are out of the Australian Open after losing a final set tie-break against American pair Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey in the second round.
The British duo, seeded 14th, won the first set and led by a break in the third set but saw three match points disappear at 5-4 before they eventually lost 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (14-12) at Melbourne Park.
Murray and Skupski, who reached the semi-finals at the US Open last year in their second Grand Slam together, saved six match points in the deciding set tie-break but were unable to convert the one opportunity they had.
Murray said: "Obviously it's disappointing to lose. We were a bit unlucky at the end how it played out but we had chances in that third set.
"We got the break, had game points the next game. I would have felt comfortable we would have probably gone on to serve the match out. But we lost that game then they had something to fight for."
Murray, meanwhile, revealed he was concerned he might fail a drugs test after a visit to Colombia to spend time with his wife Alejandra's family.
The Scot's worry stemmed from a positive test returned by world doubles No 1 Robert Farah, who blamed contaminated meat from his homeland.
Murray said: "I went to Colombia in December and got tested three days later when I was in Miami. When this news came out I was a bit stressed about what my test would be but I passed it."
However, there was better news for Skupski's brother Ken who reach the third round as he and Mexican partner Santiago Gonzalez beat second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 7-5 7-6 (7-4).
Another Briton to progress was Joe Salisbury and his American partner Rajeev Ram after they beat Tennys Sandgren and Jackson Withrow 6-3 6-3.
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