Khachanov/Rublev Save Match Point, Stun Top Seeds In St Petersburg
Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev pulled off a thrilling upset at the St. Petersburg Open in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The home favourites saved one match point to beat top seeds Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski 6-7(6), 6-3, 13-11, advancing to the second round.
Khachanov and Rublev hit 11 aces as a team and saved all three break points they faced to triumph after one hour and 37 minutes. The Russians faced match point at 8/9 in the Match Tie-break, but they held their nerve to oust the Brits, who began the week seventh in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings.
This is not the first time the singles stars have earned a big win on the doubles court. As a team, Khachanov and Rublev have reached ATP Masters 1000 finals at the 2018 Miami Open presented by Itau and the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters. They will next play Alexander Bublik and Reilly Opelka, who beat Nikola Cacic and Miomir Kecmanovic 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-8.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Peers/Venus Advance In Sardinia
In the only doubles match Monday at the Forte Village Sardegna Open, second seeds John Peers and Michael Venus eliminated wild cards Marco Cecchinato and Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4. Peers and Venus will play Jonny O’Mara and Marcelo Arevalo or Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the second round.