Dodig/Krajicek Cruise In Cincinnati Opener

Second seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek made a fast start to their Western & Southern Open title campaign on Thursday when they downed Robin Haase and Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-4.

Aiming for their fifth title of the year, Dodig and Krajicek saved eight of nine break points faced to reach the quarter-finals, where they will next meet Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev or Hubert Hurkacz and Mate Pavic.

The Croatian-American pair Dodig and Krajicek, who won their maiden major team title at Roland Garros, have a chance at rising to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings this week if they win Cincinnati and Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski do not make it past the last eight. 

In other doubles action, Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni upset third seeds and defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 7-6(4), 5-7, 10-7. Gonzalez and Molteni have won four tour-level titles this season: Cordoba, Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona and Washington, D.C.

Seventh seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz ousted Felix Auger-Aliassime and Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-4 after winning 21 of 24 of their first-serve points. Hubert Hurkacz and Mate Pavic defeated Australian Open champions Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler 5-7, 6-4, 10-4.

Wild cards Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego rallied past eighth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 3-6, 7-5, 10-3. Max Purcell and Andrey Rublev, who were quarter-finalists last week in Toronto, overcame Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara 7-6(10), 7-5.