Blumberg/Johnson Reach Newport Doubles Final

Americans William Blumberg and Steve Johnson continued their run on home turf at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open on Friday, scoring a 6-4, 6-4 win against Ramkumar Ramanathan and John-Patrick Smith to advance to the Newport title match.

A single break decided the opening set, with Blumberg/Johnson converting on the only break point of the set. The Americans surrendered an early break advantage in the second but closed out the match by winning its final three games. After their third break of the contest brought up an opportunity to serve for the match at 5-4, the pair won a deciding point to secure its final berth.

After surviving a Match Tie-break in the opening round, the fourth seeds have now won four consecutive sets on the Rhode Island lawns. They await the winner of Saturday’s semi-final, which pits top seeds Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo against Americans Robert Galloway and Alex Lawson.

Blumberg, the former North Carolina Tar Heel, is seeking to repeat as the Newport doubles champion. The 24-year-old won the 2021 title alongside Jack Sock for the lone tour-level trophy of his career. Johnson is also seeking his second doubles crown; he paired with Sam Querrey for a Geneva triumph in 2016.

Fognini/Bolelli To Face Matos/Vega Hernandez In Bastad Final
Friday’s doubles semi-final action at the Nordea Open produced two thrilling matches, both decided by Match Tie-breaks.

Second seeds Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli battled back from a set down to edge Nikola Cacic and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 5-7, 6-4, 10-7 in a match that saw 12 break chances but just two breaks of serve. The Italians also won a Match Tie-break in their opening-round victory against Ariel Behar and Tomislav Brkic.

Fogini and Bolelli are seeking their second tour-level title of 2022 (Rio de Janeiro) and their fifth title as a team. They also reached the Sydney final earlier this season.

Fourth seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez won their second consecutive Match Tie-break in a 6-1, 6-7(1), 10-7 decision against Argentines Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Despite the defeat, Cerundolo is still alive in the singles draw, where he is set to face Pablo Carreno Busta in Saturday’s semi-finals.

Vega Hernandez and Matos won the first two titles of their partnership this season in Marrakech and Mallorca and also reached the final in Munich.