Tokyo 2020 - Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski bow out of Olympics after straight sets defeat

ByCoral Barry

Published 26/07/2021 at 07:03 GMT

Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski are out of the Olympics after being beaten in straight sets by Japan's Ben McLachlan and Kei Nishikori. The British duo never really got going in the match. MacLaclan and Nishikori could face the number one seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic next if they come through their match.

Great Britain’s Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski are out of the Olympics after losing in straight sets to Japan’s Ben McLachlan and Kei Nishikori.

The doubles partners were no match for the local players who were in inspired form on home turf, losing 6-3 6-4 in Tokyo.

McLachlan and Nishikori started brightly and broke their rivals in the fourth game to take a 4-1 win.

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Murray and Skupski were quickly put under more pressure on their service game, defending four break points before eventually holding serve.

Despite the fight-back from the Brits, the early break proved decisive as McLachlan and Nishikori took the first set in 39 minutes.

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Skupski and Murray, who were seventh seeds at the tournament, tried to hit back early in the second set, seeing one break point in the fourth game pass them by.

The Japanese pair made the Brits pay for their wastefulness in the next game, breaking Murray’s serve and edging ahead just as they had done in the first set.

Once again Japan had the chance to serve for the game, this time through McLachlan, and the home favourites didn’t disappoint.

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Nishikori and McLachlan will play number one seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic or Italian duo Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego in the next round.

There is still hope for Team GB in the doubles with Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury still in the competition. Murray withdrew from the singles tournament to focus on the doubles.

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