Wimbledon 2019: Andy Murray and Pierre-Hugues Herbert knocked out of men's doubles

The pair were beaten in four sets by sixth seeds Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor in the second round

Andy Murray and partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert crashed out of the men’s Wimbledon doubles in the second round, beaten in four sets by sixth seeds Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 on Court No 2.

After clinching the first set on a tiebreak which the Brit-French pair dominated, the second set was stolen from them at the very end, with the first break of the match settling it for the Croats as Herbert buckled under pressure on serve.

From then on, Mektic and Skugor strode to victory in double-quick time, with two breaks in set three and one break in set four sending them through to round three where they will play either Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek or Nicholas Monroe and Mischa Zverev.

For Murray, his attention will now turn to his mixed doubles campaign, as his first round match with Serena Williams is scheduled for Saturday evening when the star-studded pair will play unknown quantities Andreas Mies and Alexa Guarachi.

On the previous occasion Murray played on a Wimbledon court other than Centre and No 1, he also slumped to a men’s doubles defeat. Partnering brother Jamie in the 2012 Olympics, they lost a close first-round encounter to Austrians Jurgen Melzer and Alexander Peya, and Andy’s return to Wimbledon’s third biggest court was an equally disappointing experience seven years on.

In a first set where a rally longer than three shots was a rarity, both pairs held serve with aplomb throughout, as any glimpses of a break were shut down with the classic doubles one-two: a booming serve and an easy volley put-away.

A tiebreak was the only way to settle it, and a trademark Murray winner on return, as he leaned effortlessly into a backhand strike cross-court, gave them the mini-break advantage. They raced to a 6-3 lead, and on set point number two a series of Murray forehands pounded at Skugor eventually led to a wayward volley out of court.

The set that followed seemed destined for the same outcome, until Herbert buckled under scoreboard pressure at 5-4. First, a routine overhead was netted to present a set point, before a backhand volley netted by the Frenchman meant we were all-square in the blink of an eye.

Momentum was firmly with the sixth seeds now. As they held serve with relative ease, both Herbert and Murray struggled, with perhaps their lack of match practice coming to fruition in the tense moments when it really mattered.

Andy Murray and Pierre-Hugues Herbert couldn’t progress to the third round (Getty Images)

Their resistance cracked at 2-1 when Murray was broken for the first time, as the two-time singles champion sent a half-volley just wide of the tramline, with the Croats now dominating from the back of the court as well as at the net. Some typical Murray protestations at a late challenge by Skugor pumped up the Brit, yet it couldn’t reverse the flow of the match and Murray was broken again at 5-2 as Mektic and Skugor took the third set on their fifth opportunity.

Could Murray fight back in a fashion we almost came to expect during his previous life as a singles player? Not this time.

Herbert was broken to love early on, and even a switch of sides between the pair couldn’t stifle the Croats, as a previously buoyant Court 2 crowd suddenly quietened in despondency. Murray and Herbert kept in touch as they continued to hold, desperate to generate some confidence on return. But it wasn’t to be for the newly-formed pair, as Mektic and Skugor held to love to seal a memorable win, and ruin Murray’s highly anticipated Wimbledon return.

It’s not completely down and out for Murray. He will play mixed doubles on Saturday evening with Williams, but it won’t deflect the inevitable disappointment that a very good opportunity of a run deep into the tournament, with a partner who has won every Grand Slam in doubles, wasn’t capitalised on, and is over before the first week is out.