Mektic/Pavic Reach SFs In Dubai

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic reached the semi-finals at a tour-level event for the first time this season on Wednesday, downing Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-4, 7-3(3) at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The top seeds won nine tour-level crowns in 2021, but are still seeking their first trophy in 2022. They saved the one break point they faced to advance after 89 minutes. The Croatians are aiming to go one step further in Dubai this week, after enjoying a run to the final last year.

The Croatians will next play third seeds Filip Polasek and John Peers after the Poles received a walkover from Hubert Hurkacz and Jannik Sinner.

Fourth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus booked their spot in the quarter-finals with a 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 win over lucky losers Jonathan Erlich and Jan-Lennard Struff.

Puetz and Venus clinched tour-level trophies in Hamburg and Paris last season. The German-New Zealand tandem will next take on Andrey Golubev and Fabrice Martin.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski moved into the last eight after second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury were forced to retire during the match. Koolhoof and Skupski were leading 7-6(4) when the action was stopped.