Puetz/Venus Capture Hamburg Doubles Title
Second seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus overcame Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau 6-3, 6-7(3), 10-8 on Sunday to claim the doubles title at the Hamburg European Open on Sunday.
The German-New Zeland tandem, who were competing in just their third tournament together this week, broke the top seeds four times and won 67 per cent (31/46) of their first-service points as they battled to victory in one hour and 44 minutes.
Individually, Puetz now holds a 5-0 record in tour-level finals, while Venues stands at 15-14, with his last title coming at the Gonet Geneva Open (w/Peers) in May.
“Thanks to the tournament, it is a great event and I love coming back here,” Venus said. “Thanks to Tim for playing with me. It was a tough one [today], you came back at us and made us not feel so good at the end there.”
Puetz added: “It was only our third tournament together, thank you for hitting that ace there in the tie-break Michael! I am enjoying our time together and I hope for many more.”
After breaking early, Puetz and Venus raced into a 3-1 lead in the first set as they returned with great depth. They then saved the one break point they faced in the set to move ahead.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Puetz and Venus carried this momentum into the second set and looked like they were easing to victory as they marched 5-1 ahead. However, they were pegged back to 5-5, squandering a match point in the 10th game before Krawietz and Tecau claimed the tie-break to level. The second seeds regained their focus in the Match Tie-break though, sealing the title when Krawietz could not stretch enough to make a volley.
Krawietz and Tecau were aiming to capture their second title of the year on German soil, having lifted the trophy in Halle last month. They were competing in their fourth ATP 500 final of the season on Sunday.