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.
'Very frustrated'
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 well and deserved to win."
Three years and two hip operations after he sat in the interview room tearfully proclaiming his career over, Murray said whether he returns to Melbourne Park in 2023 is dependent on how he goes at big events in 2022.
"This is a really important year for me for a number of reasons, and I want to perform well in the big events," the three-times major champion said.
Earlier on Thursday, Great Britain's Dan Evans — the number 24 seed — moved through to the next round after his opponent, Arthur Rinderknech, pulled out with a wrist injury.
Evans will face Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger Aliassime, who staved off a strong challenge from Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to win 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) in four hours and 19 minutes.
Frenchman Benoit Paire also progressed after toppling 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2).
Reuters/ABC
