Klaasen/Melo Save MP To Reach Newport Final

Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo won Saturday’s lone doubles match at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open, saving a match point to defeat Americans Robert Galloway and Alex Lawson in a Match Tie-break.

The top seeds dropped their first set of the week but battled back to claim a 4-6, 6-3, 11-9 victory, winning the final three points of the contest after facing a match point on serve at 8/9 in the Match Tie-break. Klaasen/Melo never led the decisive tie-break but clawed back from a 5/8 deficit as they scored six of the last seven points.

With the dramatic victory, the South African-Brazilian team advanced to their third tour-level final. Each of their past two title matches came in 2015, when they were crowned champions in Tokyo and at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The all-American team of William Blumberg and Steve Johnson stands in the way of their third title.

The fourth seeds advanced to the final with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Ramkumar Ramanathan and John-Patrick Smith on Friday. Blumberg is seeking to repeat as the Newport doubles champion after winning the 2021 title with countryman Jack Sock.