Jamie Murray and John Peers beaten in doubles final

Murray hoped to emulate his brother Andy who won the singles title at Flushing Meadows in 2012, but the Briton and his Australian partner fell agonisingly short.

In the second grand slam doubles final of the year for both pairs, Australian Open runners-up Herbert and Mahut finally collected their first trophy after breaking Murray and Peers on a sensational rally of close-range volleys at the net.

For Murray and Peers it was more disappointment after losing in the Wimbledon men's doubles final in July.

It was a long overdue success for the 33-year-old Mahut who has suffered numerous near misses over the years having lost 11 times at Grand Slams to the eventual champions, including on five occasions at the US Open.

Murray said: "We've got a lot to be proud of. We had a great tournament and played a lot of good tennis.

"It's disappointing. I don't think we played badly in either (final), we just came up against a better team on the day."

The doubles specialist will be part of the Great Britain team that faces Australia in the Davis Cup semi-finals in Glasgow next weekend.