Second Seeds Kubot/Melo Stunned In Second Round Of Australian Open

Santiago Gonzalez and Ken Skupski played just one tournament together before arriving in Melbourne. But the Mexican-Briton duo has certainly made its mark on the Australian Open.

Gonzalez and Skupski stunned No. 2 seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 7-5, 7-6(4) on Saturday to reach the third round after one hour and 35 minutes. They were not broken in the match, putting 84 per cent of their first serves in play to put pressure on the favourites.

Gonzalez and Skupski lost in the first round of their team debut at last week’s ASB Classic. They will now face No. 16 seeds Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor, the duo that beat them in Auckland.

Kubot and Melo were not the only seeds to fall on Saturday. Fifth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic were eliminated as well. Aussie wild cards James Duckworth and Marc Polmans beat the Dutch-Croat team 7-5, 6-3 after one hour and 23 minutes.

Alexander Bublik and Mikhail Kukushkin reached the third round with a 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5 triumph against wild cards Ji Sung Nam and Min-Kyu Song. The Kazakhs upset 2019 Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in the first round.