Koolhof/Skupski Begin Madrid Title Defence With Win As Other Top Seeds Fall

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski picked up where they left off at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday evening. The top seeds and defending champions passed a tough opening test at the ATP Masters 1000 with a 6-2, 7-6(7) win against Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.

The Dutch-British pair saved all thee break points against them — all in the first set — and later saved a set point at 5/6 in the second-set tie-break before closing out the win on their second match point. With the help of seven aces, they won 84 per cent (32/38) of their first-serve points in the victory.

Through to the last 16, Koolhof/Skupski will face  wild cards Roberto Carballes Baena and Martin Landaluce in the second round following the Spaniards’ 6-2, 6-3 win against Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez on Saturday.

Second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury were knocked out in Madrid without a match win for the second straight year. The American-British team was turned back by Banja Luka champions Jamie Murray and Michael Venus, who scored a 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 upset.

Third seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek also fell victim to an opening-round upset, with Simone Bolelli and Fabrice Martin dismissing them with a 6-4, 3-6, 12-10 win. The Italian-French duo saved a match point at 10/9 in the Match Tie-break before clinching victory on the second match point of thier own.

Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov also advanced on Satuday with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 win against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, setting up a second-round showdown with fifth-seeded Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.