Top Seeds Dodig/Krajicek Make Fast Start In Beijing

Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek made a confident start to their first tournament together on Chinese soil with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph against Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz at the China Open.

The top seeds Dodig and Krajicek converted four of five break points they earned in Saturday’s first-round clash to book a quarter-final spot in Beijing. The Croatian-American pair is chasing its fifth tour-level crown of the year in the Chinese capital, and its first on outdoor hard courts.

The leading team in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings as they chase a second consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, Dodig and Krajicek will take on Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev in the last eight. Dodig is a defending champion in Beijing, where he lifted the trophy at the previous edition of the ATP 500 event in 2019 alongside Filip Polasek.

Fourth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin also reached the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph against Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Nicolas Jarry. Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski beat Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 7-6(5), 6-4, and the experienced duo of Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos overcame singles stars Alex de Minaur and Jannik Sinner 7-6(2), 6-3.

Cabral/Matos Spring Upset In Astana
Francisco Cabral and Rafael Matos stunned top seeds Jamie Murray and Michael Venus 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday at the Astana Open, where the Portuguese-Brazilian team converted four of its six break points to charge to a 68-minute first-round win.

There were no such problems for second seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow, who beat Tallon Griekspoor and Bart Stevens 6-4, 7-5. Meanwhile Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek became the first team to reach the semi-finals when they defeated Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-3, 4-6, 10-5.