Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez took just 68 minutes to reach the second round at the BNP Paribas Open, dispatching two players inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings, Juan Martin del Potro and Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 6-2 on Friday.
The Spaniards, who had won just two of their six matches heading into the event in 2018, dropped only two points behind their first serves against the singles stars in the first set (18/20), and saved all five break points they faced to advance to the next round. The 2016 Roland Garros champions, searching for back-to-back wins at an event for the first time this season, await the winner between sixth seeds Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau and Ryan Harrison/Max Mirnyi.
Fourth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares improved to 6-2 as a team at Indian Wells, defeating Philipp Petzschner and Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4. The British-Brazilian duo, which won the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC title last week, won 85 per cent of points behind their first serves (29/34) against the wild cards.
Frenchmen Adrian Mannarino and Fabrice Martin produced the shock of the day, beating second seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers 7-6(4), 3-6, 10/6. The unseeded team edged a tight first set in a tie-break, after failing to convert three set points earlier at 5-3 and 5-4, and eventually completed the upset in 87 minutes on their second match point. The duo will next face Marcus Daniell and Diego Schwartzman, who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber and Lucas Pouille 4-6, 6-2, 10/7.
There were mixed fortunes for two further all-Spanish teams competing. Pablo Carreno Busta and David Marrero edged Kyle Edmund and Franko Skugor 7-6(6), 7-5, but Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Fernando Verdasco could not join their compatriots in the next round. John Isner and Jack Sock gave home fans a reason for celebration, defeating the Spanish team 6-3, 7-6(6).
Did You Know?
Marc Lopez is a two-time BNP Paribas Open champion. The Spaniard teamed Rafael Nadal to win the event twice in three years (2010, 2012).