Murray brothers out
Andy and Jamie Murray made an early Olympics exit in the men's doubles but Elena Baltacha won.
Last Updated: 29/07/12 8:08am
Andy and Jamie Murray crashed out in the first round of the Olympic men's doubles on Saturday evening in a very tight battle with Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Alexander Peya.
On a day where Elena Baltacha was the lone British winner, the brothers were cheered on by a raucous crowd on Court Two and edged the first set but, despite being twice a break ahead in the decider, they could not close it out and went down 5-7 7-6 (8/6) 7-5 after two hours and 23 minutes.
Melzer and Peya are both very good doubles players, with Melzer a former Wimbledon doubles champion alongside his regular partner Philipp Petzschner of Germany.
The Murrays, who reached the second round in Beijing four years ago, made a brilliant start with a break in the second game and, although they were pegged back to 4-3, Jamie held serve from 0-40 to make it 6-5 and they broke again when Melzer netted a volley.
The second set was extremely tight with no breaks of serve and, although they fought back from 5-2 down in the tie-break, Jamie netted a volley that gave Melzer and Peya a set point on their own serve, which they took.
The third set was much more up and down, with the Murrays twice going a break up only for Jamie's serve to be broken and them pegged back.
Andy has always relished the opportunity to represent his country with his brother and he showed how much the occasion meant to him by flinging his racquet to the turf when he went down break point.
He staved off the threat but it was Jamie's serve that was the pair's chief weakness and he was broken for the third time in the set and the fourth in the match in the 12th game as the Austrians clinched victory.
Disappointed
Andy Murray said: "It was tough, we played well. We were a break up twice in the third set. We had enough chances to win the match, each time we got the break we got broken straight back so it was tough."
The 25-year-old thanked the noisy crowd for their support, adding: "They did a great job. They were really loud from the first point to the last.
"They helped a lot, you don't always get that for doubles matches and it was a really nice atmosphere to play in. I hope they enjoyed the match."
Murray will hope for a different result on Sunday when he opens his singles campaign against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka on Centre Court.
"I will try and get prepared and try and do all of the recovery stuff," said the third seed. "I will get an early night and get myself ready for tomorrow."
Sole success
Earlier, Baltacha had got Britain's tennis players off to a winning start by overpowering Hungary's Agnes Szavay in the first round of the women's singles.
Baltacha was always in control against an opponent who has been plagued by injury problems over the past year as she claimed a 6-3 6-3 win in just over an hour.
The British number four broke serve twice in the first set and, after saving a break point in the opening game of the second, made a decisive move in the eighth game before closing out victory on her first match point.
"Very good start, delighted with that. I think for a first round match, I'm very happy with how I played," said Baltacha, who will play former world number one Ana Ivanovic of Serbia on the second round.
"I'm chuffed to be in the second round now. I was quite nervous before the match. I think once I put my GB gear on, it relaxed me more because I've been looking forward to this for such a long time."
Baltacha, the world number 102, was is competing in London despite being far from fully fit.
Her right shin is heavily strapped to relieve the pressure on an ankle problem and the Scot plans to take six months off after the Olympics - pre US Open - to
have surgery, definitely on her right ankle and possibly on her left as well.
She said: "They told me at some point I'll need to have surgery because basically the bone has grown an extra bit of bone.
"It just needs a little extra bit of shaving. They found a loose body in my ankle. I've actually got it in my left foot as well, but not as severe.
"I am thinking of having surgery very soon on it. We're talking about taking six months and having the surgery done.
"It's not a serious surgery, it's pretty straightforward. I know that at some point I need to have it done.
"I would maybe ask about having the left one done as well, if there's a chance the left one would get worse as well. Probably be smarter if I get two done."
Plucky
Anne Keothavong looked set to pull off the best victory of her career on Centre Court when she took the first set off eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki.
The Dane, who was cheered on by boyfriend Rory McIlroy, was ranked number one at the start of the season and her class eventually proved too much for Keothavong, who went down 4-6 6-3 6-2.
The Londoner, who hails from the Olympic borough of Hackney, was proud of her performance and what it signified.
She said: "I played great tennis in the first set and outplayed her. But she did get better. I don't feel like it was a match I lost. She beat me and she was the better player.
"Being out on Centre Court was amazing. It wasn't full, but the people who were there made plenty of noise. I couldn't be more proud to represent Britain."
More woe
Laura Robson and Heather Watson breezed through the first set of their women's doubles opener against German fifth seeds Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki and led 4-2 in the second before slipping to a 1-6 6-4 6-3 defeat.
Both players have singles matches tomorrow to look forward to, Robson against Czech Lucie Safarova while Watson faces Silvia Soler Espinosa of Spain, but for Ross Hutchins and Colin Fleming tonight marked the beginning and end of their Olympics unless they are selected in the mixed doubles.
The Anglo-Scottish pair were beaten 7-5 6-3 by France's Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet, and Fleming said: "I didn't play anywhere near my best, it's tough to take. It wasn't what we were dreaming of."
Keothavong and Baltacha return to the court on Sunday in doubles to play Germans Julia Goerges and Anna-Lena Gronefeld while Andy Murray begins his singles campaign against Stanislas Wawrinka on Centre Court.