Emma Raducanu crashes out, Andy Murray ponders his Australian Open future
Emma Raducanu has been eliminated from the Australian Open, while fellow Briton Andy Murray suggested he may not be back at Melbourne Park after a straight-sets defeat in the second round.
Reigning US Open champion Raducanu lost in three sets to Montenegro's Danka Kovinić 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a tense contest on Margaret Court Arena.
And in a shocking day for British players, Murray went down to Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on John Cain Arena.
Raducanu was hampered by a blistered racquet hand from early in the first set but showed great fighting spirit to stay in contention.
With her usually powerful forehand reduced to a slice, the 19-year-old let slip a 3-0 lead to lose the first set.
But she played on her 98th-ranked opponent's nerves to break at 4-4 in the second and take the match into a deciding set.
Kovinić showed great composure to forge ahead in the third set. She resisted a Raducanu fightback and then moved ahead 5-3 as the British youngster finally looked a little weary.
A stunning backhand winner sealed victory for the 27-year-old Kovinić as she moved into the third round of a major for the first time.
Kovinić will next play Romanian 14th seed and former finalist, Simona Halep, who took just over an hour to beat Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 6-0.
At the other end of his illustrious career to Raducanu, 34-year-old Murray had high hopes on his return to Melbourne Park after an absence of two years but they were shattered by Japanese qualifier Daniel.
«I'm really, really disappointed. Very frustrated. A tough loss for me, that's for sure,» Murray said after his defeat to the world number 120.
«I made way too many errors today. I wasn't able to turn it around, but he definitely was solid today. He moved