Dodig/Polasek Through To Madrid Quarter-finals
Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek opened their Mutua Madrid Open title bid on Thursday with 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-7 victory against Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau.
The fourth seeds won 70 per cent of their first-serve points (23/33) and did not face a break point throughout the one-hour, 52-minute match. Dodig and Polasek will face Munich finalists Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen for a place in the semi-finals.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic also needed a Match Tie-break to defeat Max Purcell and Luke Saville 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 and extend their unbeaten record at ATP Masters 1000 events this year to 10-0. The reigning Miami and Monte-Carlo champions, who are chasing their sixth team title of the year, own a 30-3 record in 2021.
Mektic and Pavic will next face seventh seeds Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot in the quarter-finals. This will be the first time Koolhof and Mektic have shared the court since they ended their partnership with a title run at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut also advanced on Thursday with a 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win against Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan. The Frenchmen will next face third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.