Britain’s Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski lost in straight sets to third seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the men’s doubles final at the Vienna Open.
Murray, 34, and Skupski, 30, lost 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 as their Polish-Brazilian opponents sealed a third Vienna title.
It was Murray and Skupski’s second final as a pairing, following August’s Western and Southern Open defeat.
Both pairs move into the top eight in the race to qualify for the ATP Finals in London later in November.
Russian Andrey Rublev booked his individual place in the finals for the first time as he continued his impressive run of form with a straight-set victory over Lorenzo Sonego to win the Vienna Open singles title.
The world number eight saw off the challenge of Italian Sonego, who had beaten Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament, with a 6-4 6-4 victory in one hour 20 minutes.
It was Rublev’s fifth ATP title of 2020, with the 23-year-old having now won 19 of his past 20 matches.
Britons Murray and Skupski, who reached the French Open quarter-finals in October, held a 5-3 lead before losing four successive points in the first-set tie-break.
They saved match points at 5-3 and 5-4 down in the second set but, despite squandering two further match points in the final game, Kubot and Melo converted their fifth to add to their 2015 and 2016 crowns.
Murray and Skupski are seventh in the race for London – with eight to qualify – as they chase a first appearance together at the ATP finals, due to take place between 15 and 22 November.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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