Murray eases through but British pair lose out in epic

Jamie Murray got his doubles campaign off to a winning start yesterday as he and Bruno Soares beat Paolo Lorenzi and Albert Ramos-vinolas in three sets.

It was a comfortable victory for the Scot and his Brazilian partner, seeded fifth, who won 7-5 6-2 6-1 in an hour and a half.

Cameron Norrie and Jay Clarke lost a five-hour marathon that spanned three days in the men’s doubles.

The duo, both first-round casualties in the singles, paired up to face Marcelo Arevalo and Hans Podlipnik-castillo, and got under way on Wednesday on Court 14.

Rain swiftly brought an end to their action on the first day, but Thursday allowed them to return to the court and play until nightfall.

Still the match was not finished, and it went all the way to a decider that had a passionate crowd on the tiny Court 14 enthralled yesterday. On the set went, lasting a remarkable two hours and 23 minutes, with Norrie and Clarke agonisingly edged out 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 5-7 6-4 22-20.

Podlipnik-castillo put away the match-winning volley and fell flat on his back before embracing his partner and commiserating with the British pair.

The five hours and two minutes marathon goes down as the fourth longest doubles match in Wimbledon history, with the record still held by Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor, who took six hours and nine minutes to win a 2006 quarter-final against Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry.

Jamie Murray’s first match of his new mixed doubles partnership with Victoria Azarenka, against Czech duo Roman Jebavy and Lucie Hradecka, was tied at one set all when play was suspended due to darkness.