Australian Open 2026: British top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool suffer shock second-round loss

British top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool suffered a shock second-round defeat to Australians James McCabe and Li Tu at the Australian Open.

Wimbledon champions Cash and Glasspool, who last season became the first all-British pair to secure the top spot in the men’s doubles world rankings by the end of the year, lost 7-6 (7-5) and 6-4.

This leaves his British compatriot Henry Patten and his Finnish partner Hari Heliovaara – the defending champion – as the highest remaining seeds in the men’s doubles draw, which has already lost five of the top 10 pairs.

The Germans, Kevin Krawietz and Tim Butz, the fifth seeds, who reached the semi-finals last year, were eliminated on Friday.

They join Italian seventh seeds and 2025 runners-up Andrea Vavasori and Simone Bolelli, eighth seeds Edouard-Roger-Vasselin and Hugo Ness, and ninth seeds Francisco Cabral and Lucas Midler in ending their bids early.

But British Neil Skupski and American Christian Harrison, seeded sixth, safely qualified to the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Spaniards Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar.

Britain’s Marcus Willis, who is competing alongside Swiss player Jacob Ball, and Luke Johnson, alongside Poland’s Jan Zielinski, will both seek to advance later on Friday.