Koolhof/Skupski Make Winning Start In Indian Wells

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski began the quest to win their first title of the season Thursday when they defeated Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 at the BNP Paribas Open.

The top seeds won seven tour-level titles, including three ATP Masters 1000 crowns in 2022, but have yet to lift a trophy this season. They’ll be hoping their 62-minute win against Melo and Zverev is the start of a triumphant run in Indian Wells.

In a dominant performance, the Dutch-British tandem won 87 per cent (20/23) of their first-serve points to set a second-round meeting against Frances Tiafoe and Stan Wawrinka or Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta.

It was a different story for second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who were upset in the opening round by singles stars Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz. In a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory, Dimitrov/Hurkacz erased both break points they faced and claimed the second set behind the lone break of the match. 

Teaming for the first time, Cameron Norrie and Lucas Miedler made a winning start when they downed Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 3-6, 6-3, 10-6. The British-Austrian team will next meet Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, who beat #NextGenATP stars Holger Rune and Ben Shelton 6-1, 6-3.

Daniel Evans and John Peers scored a 6-3, 6-3 win against Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, while Kevin Krawietz and Fabrice Martin beat Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4.