Pavic/Marach Reach Ninth Final Of 2018 In Beijing

Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic reached their ninth tour-level final of the season on Saturday, overcoming Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic 7-6(6), 6-2 to move into the championship match of the China Open.

The ATP Doubles Race To London frontrunners saved one set point, at 5/6 in the opening set tie-break, before racing away with the second set to advance after 80 minutes. Marach and Pavic won 87 per cent of first-serve points and saved the only break point they faced en route to victory.

Marach and Pavic, who captured three titles in January to open their 2018 campaign, are searching for their first trophy since winning the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open in May. Since then, the top-seeded pairing have lost both finals they have contested, at Roland Garros (l. to Herbert/Mahut) and the German Tennis Championships presented by Kampmann (l. to Peralta/Zeballos).

In Sunday’s final, Marach and Pavic will meet second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo for the trophy. The Polish-Brazilian duo overcame Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-4, 1-6, 10-6. Kubot and Melo saved four of six break points to reach their first final in the Chinese capital, two years after falling in the semi-finals to Jack Sock and Bernard Tomic.