Monroe/Tiafoe Down Kyrgios/Reid At Murray River Open
Nicholas Monroe and Frances Tiafoe made a strong start to their Murray River Open campaign on Tuesday, as they overcame home favourites Nick Kyrgios and Matt Reid 7-5, 6-4.
The American pair, which reached the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com quarter-finals last month, saved all three break points it faced to advance in 63 minutes. Monroe and Tiafoe will face fourth seeds Marcelo Melo and Horia Tecau in the second round. Melo and Tecau, who first faced each other on the ATP Challenger Tour in April 2007, will be making their team debut this week.
Mackenzie McDonald and Tommy Paul translated singles success onto the doubles court at the with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Andres Molteni and Hugo Nys. The Americans both won their first-round singles matches on Monday, and they showed confidence in their doubles victory, saving eight of the nine break points they faced.
Tomislav Brkic and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi beat Marco Cecchinato and Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-2. The unseeded duo will face top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic for a place in the quarter-finals.
In other doubles action, Australia’s James Duckworth and Marc Polmans broke serve on three occasions to defeat Rohan Bopanna and Frederik Nielsen 6-4, 6-3. Divij Sharan and Igor Zelenay also advanced, ousting Guillermo Duran and Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.
Khachanov/Kecmanovic Claim Win At Great Ocean Road Open
Karen Khachanov and Miomir Kecmanovic played a tour-level doubles event together for the first time on Tuesday, and they clicked into high gear at the Great Ocean Road Open.
The singles stars battled past Romain Arneodo and Salvatore Caruso 2-6, 6-4, 10-3 after one hour and 18 minutes. They dominated on serve in the Match Tie-break, winning all six of their service points to triumph.
Roberto Carballes Baena and Pablo Cuevas were also victorious, defeating Ji Sung Nam and Min-Kyu Song 3-6, 6-3, 10-4. Carballes Baena’s countrymen, Pablo Andujar and Pedro Martinez, also booked their place in the second round. The Spaniards broke Laslo Djere and Stefano Travaglia on five occasions to record a 7-5, 6-3 win in 72 minutes.
There were also wins for two all-Australian partnerships. Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith beat countrymen Christopher O’Connell and Aleksandar Vukic 7-6(5), 6-4. Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson were leading Nikoloz Basilashvili and Andre Begemann 6-4, 5-4 when their opponents retired from the match.