Eight MPs Later, Murray/Venus Reach Tokyo Final

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again.

Jamie Murray and Michael Venus did just that on Saturday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where they edged Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 7-6(5), 2-6, 14/12 in a tense semi-final clash.

American duo Lammons and Withow saved four match points from 5/9 in the Match Tie-break and denied their opponents a further three times on match point before the British-Kiwi team finally sealed a one-hour, 45-minute triumph in Tokyo. Murray and Venus will now face Rinky Hijikata and Max Purcell in the championship match on Sunday as they chase their fifth ATP Tour crown of the year.

Victory on Sunday would also be a further boost for Murray and Venus’ Nitto ATP Finals qualification prospects. They leapfrogged Lammons and Withrow into eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings after Saturday’s win, and would move within 47 points of seventh-placed Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury with the Tokyo crown.