Britain'S Elena Baltacha threw away the chance to beat former Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo today.

The world No134, who battled through qualifying, led 2-0 in the deciding set only to see her game fall apart, losing 10 points in a row as Mauresmo claimed a scrappy 4-6, 6-3, 62 win in two hours 13 minutes.

Baltacha reached the third round in 2005 and should have repeated that feat against the French double Grand Slam champion, who had problems with her serve in blustery conditions on another hot day in Melbourne. The players were given a 10-minute break after the second set because of the extreme heat and, when they restarted, Baltacha seemed ready to cause an upset against the 20th seed.

But she lost self belief and said: "Even at 2-0 up I felt the match was slipping away from me because I couldn't maintain the level I needed to beat her."

Despite losing, Baltacha believes she can build on this display as he she looks for a place in the world's top 50. "I proved to myself that I can play at that level, a standard I'm not used to every week," said the 25-year-old, who lives in Enfield with her mum. "I have never played tennis like that before." Britain's Jamie Murray admitted he "served like a dog" alongside Eric Butorac as they were knocked out in the first round of the men's doubles by Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti and Spain's Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-4. The loss puts added pressure on the elder Murray brother as he could lose his Davis Cup doubles starting position to Ross Hutchins, who is through to the second round alongside Australian Stephen Huss.