Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares battled hard to reach their second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final of the season (also Indian Wells) on Friday at the Western & Southern Open. The third seeds knocked out last year’s finalist Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-6(6), 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes. Murray and Soares saved three set points from 3/6 in the first set tie-break, then broke at 4-4 in the second set prior to convert their third match point opportunity. Murray and Soares, with a 3-1 record in ATP World Tour finals this year (6-3 overall), have yet to win a Masters 1000 crown as a team. They will next meet second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo,...
Last year's doubles finalists Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau continued their strong run of form at the Western & Southern Open, securing their spot in the quarter-finals. Rojer and Tecau, the 2015 Nitto ATP Finals champs, have not dropped a set through two matches this week in Cincinnati, completing a 7-5, 6-3 upset of sixth seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram on Thursday. The Dutch-Romanian duo, who finished runners-up to Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in last year's final, are bidding for their second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title as a team (Madrid 2016). They will next face third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares for a spot in the last four. [ALSO LIKE] In other action, Montreal champs...
Fourth seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan began their campaign for a sixth Western & Southern Open crown on Wednesday in Cincinnati as they defeated Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 6-2, 6-3. The American twins improved to a 39-14 record at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament as they dismissed their Spanish opponents in 53 minutes. They last won the title in 2014 (d. Pospisil/Sock), having won their first crown in 2003 (d. Arthurs/Hanley). Third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares also advanced with victory over a Spanish pairing, beating Pablo Carreno Busta and Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3 in 61 minutes. The British/Brazilian duo are looking for their fourth title of the season, to add to trophies in Acapulco,...
They were the odd couple of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati: a 20-year-old singles star, Alexander Zverev, who's already won five titles this year, and a 44-year-old doubles legend, Leander Paes, who's captured 54 doubles titles. The enticing partnership, which played on a packed Court 11, fell short on Tuesday, but they treated fans to a memorable match during their doubles debut. Paes/Zverev fell to Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 2-6, 7-6(2), 10-6. “I know him quite well. He's a good guy. Unfortunately we lost today but it was fun playing with him,” Zverev said of Paes. The right-hander said doubles can improve his singles game. “The serve and return helps. You get used to the conditions a...
Dozens of fans and a plethora of ATP World Tour doubles players enjoyed the fourth annual ATP Doubles Showdown at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Monday afternoon. Wayne Bryan kicked off the afternoon of fun with a question-and-answer session with players, including Lukasz Kubot, Bruno Soares and Marcelo Melo. Bryan also tested the crowd on their tennis knowledge. He even had Kubot, Soares and Melo dancing at one point. Jamie Murray, Rajeev Ram, Raven Klaasen, Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic also participated. [ALSO LIKE] The players and fans then hit on Court 4, as the players worked on doubles drills with fans. Other doubles players, including Leander Paes, John Peers, Nikola Mektic, Jackson Withrow, Juan Sebastian Cabal, Aisam-Ul-Haq...
