Murray/Soares Soar Into London SFs

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares have clinched a Barclays ATP World Tour Finals semi-finals berth and boosted their chances of finishing as year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings after the second seeds defeated Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 on Thursday at The O2 arena.

Murray/Soares completed their Group Edberg/Jarryd campaign with a maximum three victories and can still overtake Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut as the World No. 1 pairing, depending on the outcome of the Frenchmen’s final round-robin match on Friday.

Herbert/Mahut, who will not qualify for the final four, must prevail in their final Group Fleming/McEnroe contest with Henri Kontinen and John Peers, otherwise the prestigious year-end top spot is in the hands of Murray/Soares.

Dodig’s perfectly curated lob clipped the right tramline in the opening game but Murray managed to hold with a heavy first serve in the deciding deuce point. Murray/Soares capitalised on two double faults to canvass the net and break Melo for a 3-1 lead. Crisp volleying and dominant serving kept them ahead to close out a comprehensive opener, a set which guaranteed them a ticket to play in the semi-finals.

However Dodig/Melo, playing in their final tournament as partners, built momentum on their own service games. Melo held to love for 4-3 and then the 2014 runners-up at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals forced the second seeds into uncharacteristic errors to level the match. Murray/Soares regrouped and struck 100 percent first serves in the match tie-break to command the points and edge to victory.

Heading into the semi-finals, the British-Brazilian duo will hope to cap their successful 2016 season in style. They have already accumulated 41 match wins this year, including the Apia International Sydney, Australian Open and US Open titles. 

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