Marcus Willis and Jay Clarke do some damage before their Wimbledon doubles run is brought to an end

Oliver Marach was hit with the ball in a rather painful place during the match, telling Clarke and Willis when they came to enquire about his welfare: 'It's okay, I already have two children'

Eleanor Crooks
Wimbledon
Monday 10 July 2017 09:09 EDT
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Willis and Clarke did some damage before crashing out
Willis and Clarke did some damage before crashing out (Getty)

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Marcus Willis and Jay Clarke's excellent run in the men's doubles was brought to an end in the third round by Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic.

After missing out on a singles wild card this year, Willis has made the most of his opportunity in doubles to cement his Wimbledon folk hero status.

Enjoying the ride alongside him has been 18-year-old Clarke, Britain's most promising teenager on the men's side.

The pair stunned defending champions Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second round but found Austria's Marach and Croatian Pavic too solid.

The 16th seeds were rarely troubled and won 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7/3) to reach the quarter-finals.

The most uncomfortable moment, certainly for Marach, came late in the first set when he caught a Clarke smash in a particularly painful place.

The Austrian lay on the grass of Court 14 for several minutes, telling Clarke and Willis when they came to enquire about his welfare: "It's okay, I already have two children."

The blow did not alter the momentum of the match, though, with Willis and Clarke unable to put any pressure on their opponents' serve until the eighth game of the third set.

But two break points came and went, and it was Marach and Pavic who dominated the tie-break.

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