Dodig/Melo Prevail In Toronto

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo overcame a rain delay and stayed the course against Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares to win 6-4, 6-4 in the Rogers Cup doubles final on Sunday. Starting their fifth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final on Centre Court, Dodig/Melo were up 4-3 in the first set when rain interrupted play. The match was later completed on Grandstand court, where Dodig/Melo closed out their third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown as a team (Shanghai 2013 & Paris 2015) and first tour-level title of 2016.

“Finishing on another court was something we could not control, that we had to adapt to,” Dodig said. “But throughout the match we did a great job of that.”

“This is the type of experience we had at Wimbledon,” Melo said. “We often needed to go in and out of the locker room due to rain. We would have loved to play the whole match without interruption, but we are professionals and it’s our job to stay focused and to get it done.”

Both teams won over 70 per cent of second-serve points in the 69-minute encounter, but Dodig/Melo were able to rely on their first serves to dictate play. The Croatian/Brazilian duo landed 75 per cent of first serves and only dropped five points (31/36) throughout. They did not face break point in the match and broke Murray/Soares twice.

Murray/Soares were contesting their second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final of 2016 after finishing runners-up in Monte Carlo. Soares is a two-time champion at the Rogers Cup alongside Alexander Peya. They won in Montreal in 2013, defeating Dodig/Melo along the way, and in Toronto in 2014.

Sunday’s win was Melo’s seventh in 18 FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against countryman Soares. The pair is 10-2 in Davis Cup play and 82-56 at the tour level.

Dodig/Melo earned 1000 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and $242,330, while Murray/Soares will split 600 points and $118,640.