Murray misery complete after doubles humiliation
British No1 Andy Murray and brother Jamie crashed out of the men’s doubles yesterday, ending Team GB’s hopes of a tennis medal.
The Murrays were thrashed 6-1, 6-3 by the experienced French duo of Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement in the second round.
It capped a miserable Games for Andy Murray, who fell at the first hurdle in the men’s singles against the unheralded Lu Yen-Hsun of Chinese Taipei.
Llodra and Clement, who won the men’s doubles title at last year’s Wimbledon, needed just 66 minutes to dispatch the Scottish siblings. The Murrays were instantly under pressure on their serve, and Andy had to save two break points before their opponents broke elder brother Jamie’s serve to move into a 3-1 lead in the first set.
Andy, who reached a career high world ranking of six after winning the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month, was off form and saw his serve broken too as the set evaporated in 27 minutes.
The Frenchmen were made to work a little harder for the second set, but Jamie handed them the victory when he double faulted at match point.
Defeat allows Andy more time to prepare for the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year, which starts later this month.