Jamie Murray misses out on British record-breaking eighth Grand Slam title after defeat in the Australian Open mixed doubles final
- Jamie Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands were beaten in Australian Open final
- The pair lost 5-7 6-4 10-1 to Barbora Krejcikova and Nikola Mektic in the finale
- Murray was bidding for a British record eighth Grand Slam title but fell short
Members of the Murray family losing an Australian Open final is sadly not unknown, and Jamie Murray suffered the same fate as his brother when it came to the championship match of the mixed doubles.
The 33 year-old Scot and partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands went down 5-7 6-4 7-6 (10-1) to fifth seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Nikola Mektic, meaning he will have to wait for another shot at a British record for Grand Slam wins.
Their subsidence in the deciding ‘champions’ tiebreak meant that Murray was left on seven Major doubles titles, failing to follow up on their victory at the US Open.
Jamie Murray and partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands were defeated in the Australian Open final
While Andy has famously lost five singles final on the Rod Laver Arena, Jamie won the men’s doubles title in 2016 with Bruno Soares. That forms part of his portfolio of seven Major trophies, which see him on a par with Virginia Wade.
His life will hardly be ruined by the result, for which he picked up £28,000, but it was a disappointment after they appeared in control when coming back to win the first set.
He had dropped his serve in the first game of the match, but they took the set when Mattek-Sands ripped a backhand down the line at 6-5 on break point.
The deciding tiebreak started badly with a missed volley and, as can happen, went quickly downhill thereafter with Croatian Mektic dominating proceedings.
Murray (middle left) missed on a British record eighth Grand Slam title after falling to defeat
The pair were beaten 5-7 6-4 10-1 by fifth seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Nikola Mektic