Veteran Australian doubles duo Matt Ebden and John Peers' hopes of repeating their Paris triumph in last year's Olympic Games on the clay of Roland Garros have hit the buffers in a titanic quarter-final against Brits Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski.
Last August, the Aussies clinched gold on Court Philippe Chatrier and in February, after a Davis Cup tie, they decided to team up on tour in search of more men's doubles glory.
On Tuesday, on a breezy Court Simonne-Mathieu at the French Open, Ebden and Peers looked on course for the semis when they won a marathon first set 7-4 on a tiebreaker - just reward for the pressure they had exerted when the No.8 seeds were serving.
But Peers twice had treatment for his heavily-strapped right elbow and Ebden's serve was broken late in the second and early in the third sets as Salisbury and Skupski hit back to win 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 6-4.
It was a gutsy effort by Peers, 36, and Ebden, 37, who live near each other in Perth and were seeded No.15 at Roland Garros.
Having trailed 4-1 in the decider, they broke Skupski for 4-2 and Peers showed no ill effects from his sore arm to hold serve confidently for 3-4.
Another shift in momentum looked on the cards but the Brits had just enough of a lead to get them over the line three games later, in 2 hours 35 minutes, as Skupski held serve to love.
The British pair will next face the US pair Christian Harrison and Evan King, who beat No.2 seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.
