Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic extended their winning streak in 2018 and are riding on the crest of a wave in Melbourne. The seventh-seeded team from Austria and Croatia used their collective experience on Thursday to book a place in the Australian Open final after overcoming Japan’s Ben Mclachlan and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) in two hours and 26 minutes. Marach and Pavic battled back from a 1/3 deficit in the deciding set tie-break, putting Mclachlan and Struff under pressure to commit four groundstroke errors – two forehand and two backhand – as the seventh seeds won six of the next seven points. Marach, 37, and 24-year-old Pavic are now 13 matches unbeaten this year. Prior to...
It may be early in the season, but Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic are garnering the headlines for their exceptional start. Now 12 matches unbeaten in 2018, the Austrian-Croatian team is through to the Australian Open semi-finals. Seventh seeds Marach and Pavic grit their teeth and held their nerves to knock out Marcus Daniell of New Zealand and Great Britain’s Dominic Inglot 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(5) in two hours and 40 minutes on Tuesday. The in-form pair recovered from an 0/5 deficit in the second set tie-break by winning six straight points, but was unable to convert match point opportunities at 6/5, 8/7 and 10/9. With no service breaks in the deciding set, both teams swung freely in the tie-break before...
Mike and Bob Bryan are through to the semi-finals of the Australian Open with a point to prove as they bid to win their first major title since the 2018 US Open.
Call them the comeback kings. For the third straight match, sixth seeds and six-time champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan battled from a set down to advance at the Australian Open. On Sunday, the American twins prevailed 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-3 over French duo Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin, needing two hours and five minutes to advance to the quarter-finals. Winners at Melbourne Park in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013, the Bryans are making their 19th consecutive appearance at the first Grand Slam of the year. The Americans have defeated three unseeded teams to reach the last eight, but each encounter was far from straightforward. They stormed back from 5-7, 4-4 0/40 down to defeat Marton Fucsovics and Yoshihito...
It’s been 24 years since he made his Australian Open debut, yet India’s Leander Paes has shown no signs of slowing down. The 44-year-old Paes teamed up with 32-year-old countryman Purav Raja for a hard-fought second-round win over 2016 champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares on Saturday in Melbourne, edging the fifth seeds 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(6) after two hours and 54 minutes. Paes and Raja saved a match point at 5/6 in the decisive tie-break. Paes and Raja’s best results since joining forces ahead of the US Open have come on the ATP Challenger Tour, with a pair of titles last November in the United States. They will look to continue their run in Melbourne when they next face 11th-seeded...
