Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan are closing in on equalling the all-time Grand Slam championship doubles titles’ record, currently held by Australia’s John Newcombe, who won 17 team majors during his career. The American twins are tied with Roy Emerson and Todd Woodbridge with 16 titles. The American twins booked a spot in their 30th major championship final (16-13) and 10th Australian Open title match (6-3) on Thursday after the third seeds hit 31 winners past Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in a 7-6(1), 6-3 victory over 90 minutes. The Bryans will now meet fourth seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers in Saturday’s doubles final. Kontinen and Peers beat the Bryans 7-6(2), 6-4 in the semi-finals of the...
Fourth seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers reached their first Grand Slam semi-final together on Wednesday night at the Australian Open as they defeated Sam Groth and Chris Guccione 7-5, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena. Watch Highlights Kontinen and Peers, who finished 2016 with back-to-back titles at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris and the ATP Finals in London, are bidding to win their first major title. The Finnish/Australian duo has dropped only one set on their route through to the semi-finals, beating Groth and Guccione in 64 minutes with only nine points dropped on serve. Watch: Kontinen/Peers Visit St. Kilda Beach Peers is looking to reach his third Grand Slam final, having finished runner-up at Wimbledon and the US...
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan are one match away from reaching their 30th Grand Slam doubles championship final (16-13) and their 10th title match at the Australian Open (6-3). The third-seeded twins, who are bidding to lift their 17th major trophy, knocked out No. 9 seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-4 in two hours and 26 minutes for a place in the semi-finals. Dodig and Granollers hit 73 winners, but the Bryans held their nerve on serve. The Americans have an outstanding 112-54 record in tour-level finals. The Bryans go on to face Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who had a battle to overcome Kiwis Alex Bolt and Bradley Mousley 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3 in two...
Fourth seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers were pushed to the limit on Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, requiring three tie-breaks to advance into the quarter-finals. Joining them in the last eight are third seeds Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, ninth seeds Ivan Dodig/Marcel Granollers and Aussies Sam Groth/Chris Guccione. Kontinen/Peers scored an epic 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 7-6(1) win over No. 14 seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah. There was nothing separating the two teams in the match, but the reigning ATP Finals champions won the final six points in the third-set tie-break to secure the win. Both Kontinen and Peers are now into their first quarter-final in Melbourne. Next up for them are Groth/Guccione, who delighted the local crowd with a 7-6(9), 6-3...
Top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut saved three match points on Sunday to move into the doubles quarter-finals at the Australian Open, while local wild card pairings Marc Polmans/Andrew Whittington and Alex Bolt/Bradley Mousley delighted the home crowd by also reaching the last eight. Herbert/Mahut were perilously close to defeat with No. 16 seeds Dominic Inglot/Florin Mergea holding three match points on their serve at 5-4 in the second set, but the French pair fought them off to grab the break and took control of the match to prevail 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. The top seeds are looking for their first title in Melbourne, having previously finished runner-up here in 2015 (l. Bolelli/Fognini). Next up for them are Polmans/Whittington, who continued their...