AUSTRALIA 3, CZECH REPUBLIC 0 Venue: Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Melbourne, AUS (hard - outdoor) Australia has taken an unassailable 3-0 lead over the Czech Republic following Saturday's doubles victory for Sam Groth and John Peers. The Aussie duo defeated Jan Satral and Jiri Vesely 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 30 minutes, firing 11 aces. The 28-time champion Aussie squad has not dropped a set through three matches, including singles routs by Jordan Thompson and Nick Kyrgios on Friday. Played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, former venue of the Australian Open, Groth and Peers powered their nation into its second World Group quarter-final in three years. They will face either Switzerland or the United States next. "It...
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...
Top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut successfully began their Australian Open title quest, advancing to the second round with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Adrian Mannarino and Adil Shamasdin in exactly one hour on Thursday. The all-French duo next face Jerzy Janowicz and Marcin Matkowski. Sam Querrey and Donald Young caused the biggest upset in the doubles draw thus far, ousting defending champions and second seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the first round. The Americans needed to capitalise on just their one break point chance in the 72-minute match for a 6-3, 7-6(5) win over the British/Brazilian team. Next up for Querrey and Young in the second round is the all-Russian duo of #NextGenATP star Karen Khachanov...
Henri Kontinen and John Peers have marked their team debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals by finishing Group Fleming/McEnroe undefeated, following a 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-4 victory over Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut on Friday. The win for semi-finalists Kontinen/Peers also guaranteed the season-ending No. 1 Emirates ATP Doubles Team Ranking for Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares. Mahut, looking to become the first Frenchman to finish the campaign No. 1 in singles or doubles, required one victory in London to be crowned the individual No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, but the top seeds exit at the round-robin stage following three defeats. Therefore, Soares can become No. 1 should the Brazilian and Murray lift the Barclays ATP...
Fourth seeds Feliciano Lopez/Marc Lopez produced an inspired performance on Wednesday at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, scoring their first win in Group Fleming/McEnroe in a marathon match over top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut, 7-5, 5-7, 10-8. The victory by Lopez/Lopez means that fifth seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers have qualified for the semi-finals. The Finnish-Australian pair were winners earlier in the day over seventh seeds Raven Klaasen/Rajeev Ram. Herbert/Mahut have also been eliminated from contention to qualify for the semi-finals. This means that second seeds Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares are in total control over whether they can finish 2016 as the year-end No. 1 doubles team. Herbert/Mahut and Lopez/Lopez traded comfortable service holds throughout most of the opening set. The...