Demoliner/Medvedev Eliminate Murray/Soares In Rome
Marcelo Demoliner and Daniil Medvedev recovered from a set and a break down on Monday to upset sixth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-4 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
Demoliner and Medvedev trailed 6-3, 4-3 on Court 4, but they quickly recovered and dominated the Match Tie-break to reach the second round after one hour and 41 minutes. The Brazilian-Russian tandem also caused an upset at last week’s Mutua Madrid Open, where they overcame Miami and Monte-Carlo finalists Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski.
Demoliner and Medvedev will attempt to reach their third ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final as a team this week. The pair advanced to the last eight at back-to-back clay-court Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte-Carlo and Madrid in 2019.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar needed a 30-point Match Tie-break to defeat Henri Kontinen and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 3-6, 7-6(5), 16-14. The Delray Beach and Marbella champions saved five match points during the Match Tie-break, before they converted their third opportunity to reach the second round after one hour and 39 minutes.
Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald saved all six break points they faced to beat Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-4. The unseeded duo won 86 per cent of their first-serve points (30/35) to move past the Madrid quarter-finalists in 71 minutes.
John Peers and Michael Venus claimed a 7-6(7), 7-6(4) win against Austin Krajicek and Oliver Marach to earn their place in the second round. Peers and Venus, who saved a set point at 5/6 in the first-set tie-break, are making only their third 2021 appearance as a team this week.