Jamie Murray was denied back-to-back Wimbledon mixed doubles title after he and Victoria Azarenka lost a hard-fought final on Centre Court.
The Scot and his new partner were beaten 7-6 (7/1) 6-3 by Austrian Alexander Peya and American Nicole Melichar.
Murray, who won 12 months ago with Martina Hingis, had not initially planned to play in this year’s mixed event, instead deciding to focus on the men’s doubles with Bruno Soares.
But when the chance to partner Belarusian former world number one Azarenka arose, Murray jumped at the opportunity.
Murray and Azarenka found themselves under severe pressure in the first set, eventually holding serve in a marathon seven-deuce game for a 4-3 lead.
They managed to force a tie-break, but the 11th seeds swept through it to take the lead.
Murray and Azarenka had fought back from a set down twice before to reach the final, but they could not mount another comeback as hopes of British success disappeared.
“It’s disappointing. But they played well, very solid,” said Murray.
“But it’s been awesome. We earned it, getting to the final, we played a lot of tennis. It was a lot of fun to play with Vika, she’s a great player and a great champion.
“I had a great time. Overall we’ve got to be pleased with how it went.”
Azarenka, who lost to Karolina Pliskova in the second round of the singles, added: “It’s been a great two weeks. We just came up a little short. I would love to play with Jamie again.”
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