Australian duo Matthew Ebden and John Peers have gone down fighting to German pairing Jan-Lennard Struff and Tim Puetz 6-4 6-7 6-2 6-7 6-4 in the Davis Cup doubles match.
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After winning a tight first set, Germany surrendered a break in the second as Australia claimed it on a tie break only for Germany to race through the third.
While Australia claimed an incredibly tight fourth set, and had many break point chances in the decider, Germany proved to good in the end.
Germany's win gives them a 2-1 lead in the first round of the Davis Cup ahead of the reverse singles to be played on Sunday.
Nick Kyrgios, who won his first game against Jan Lennard-Struff, will look to keep Australia's hopes of progression alive against world no. 5 Alexander Zverev with Alex de Minaur then set to take on Lennard-Struff.
The winner of the tie will go on to face either Great Britain or Spain in the quarter-finals come April.
