Competing together for the first time this year, Austrians Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald claimed the title at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad on Sunday. Marach and Oswald defeated Jonathan Eysseric and Franko Skugor 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 after one hour and 27 minutes, saving four of five break points. It was their second title together and first on the ATP World Tour, having lifted the trophy at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Aix-en-Provence, France, last year. "This is probably the most beautiful victory of my career," said Oswald. "So close to home and with my family in the stands it feels very special." [ALSO LIKE] Individually, 37-year-old Marach, who finished runner-up in Gstaad in 2015 (w/Qureshi), earned...
Julian Knowle and Philipp Petzschner were warriors all week at the SkiStar Swedish Open and the Austrian-German tandem were rewarded with their first team title on Sunday. Knowle and Petzschner defeated Dutch duo Sander Arends and Matwe Middelkoop 6-2, 3-6, 10-7 on Centre Court in Bastad, notching their fourth straight victory in a Match Tie-break. They prevailed after 70 minutes, converting three of 14 break chances. Competing as a team for the first time, the unseeded titlists split €26,110 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points. Both ended lengthy ATP World Tour title droughts, notching their first trophies since 2014. "It was an amazing week," said Petzschner. "Coming in, Julian had won in Braunschweig and we just...
Playing together for the first time this week, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Rajeev Ram notched the doubles title at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open. Qureshi and Ram defeated Aussie duo Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 4-6, 10-7 on Saturday. The win came one day after rallying past third seeds Sam Groth and Leander Paes 11-9 in a Match Tie-break, saving eight match points. It was the second doubles title in Newport for both players, with Qureshi prevailing in 2015 with Jonathan Marray and Ram in 2009 with Jordan Kerr. In total, Qureshi captured his 15th ATP World Tour doubles crown and fourth of the year (with four different partners). For Ram, it was title No. 13 and his...
Guillermo Duran and Andres Molteni claimed their first team ATP World Tour doubles title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Saturday. The third-seeded Argentines needed one hour and 36 minutes to dispatch Croatian wild cards Marin Draganja and Tomislav Draganja 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-6. They fired four aces, while converting four of nine break chances. Duran and Molteni had an opportunity to close it out in the second set, but failed to convert on a pair of match points in the ninth game. They would drop the ensuing tie-break, but eventually emerged victorious in the deciding Match Tie-break. "We are so happy to win this week," said Duran. "Thanks to Andres for playing with me. We were a little...
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo have become the first doubles team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November. The Polish-Brazilian team secured their place as a result of lifting their first major doubles trophy at The Championships, Wimbledon, with a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(2), 6-3, 13-11 victory over Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. It was their third straight grass-court title (Ricoh Open and Gerry Weber Open) and their seventh tour-level doubles crown. Unbeaten on grass in 2017 with a 14-0 record, Kubot and Melo have a 33-9 match tally this year. [ALSO LIKE] Melo has now qualified for the prestigious season finale for the fifth straight year (since 2013). Three...