British doubles pair progress at Melbourne Park

Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins advanced into the second round of the men's doubles at the Australian Open (GETTY IMAGES)

Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins advanced into the second round of the men's doubles at the Australian Open today with a hard-fought victory over Americans Ryan Harrison and Ryan Sweeting.

After Monday's disappointment when five Britons went out of the singles, leaving Andy Murray, who beat Harrison yesterday, as the only British representative in the main draws, it was left to doubles specialists Fleming and Hutchins to restore a little bit of pride.

They edged the first set and then clinched the second on a tie-break to move through 7-5 7-6 (7/2).

Laura Robson suffered further disappointment, though, as she and Australian prodigy Ashleigh Barty lost to the more experienced pairing of Dominika Cibulkova and Jill Craybas.

Robson, thrashed in the singles by Jelena Jankovic, and 15-year-old Barty fought hard but could not prevent a 3-6 6-2 6-3 defeat.

Jamie Delgado and Jonathan Marray also suffered first-round disappointment, losing 6-4 6-4 to Polish pair Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.

PA