Mate Pavić

[robpal]

[Art]

Australian Open: gorący doping nie pomógł Kolumbijczykom. Oliver Marach i Mate Pavić mistrzami turnieju debla!

Spoiler:

Oliver Marach i Mate Pavić wygrali rozgrywany na kortach twardych wielkoszlemowy Australian Open 2018 w deblu. W finale austriacko-chorwacki duet w dwóch setach pokonał Kolumbijczyków Juana Sebastiana Cabala i Roberta Faraha.

Oliver Marach i Mate Pavić od początku sezonu imponują formą. Chorwat i Austriak przed startem Australian Open wygrali turnieje w Dosze i w Auckland. Przystępując do finału turnieju w Melbourne, notowali serię 13. kolejnych wygranych spotkań. W sobotnim meczu o tytuł zmierzyli się z Juanem Sebastianem Cabalem i Robertem Farahem - pierwszą w historii kolumbijską parą w finale imprezy Wielkiego Szlema.

Mimo że mecz był rozgrywany o późnej porze (rozpoczął się po godz. 23:00 lokalnego czasu), na trybunach panowała świetna atmosfera. W głównej mierze za sprawą grupy kolumbijskich kibiców, która głośnymi okrzykami i śpiewami dopingowała swoich ulubieńców.

Cabal i Farah zaczęli dobrze. Już w przy stanie 2:1 mieli aż cztery szanse na przełamanie, lecz Marach obronił podanie. Chorwat i Austriak przetrwali trudny początek, a w dziewiątym gemie po wspaniałym returnie Maracha przełamali Faraha i wyszli na prowadzenie 5:4, by wygrać pierwszego seta 6:4.

Druga partia miała identyczna przebieg. Na początku (w gemie numer dwa) Marach obronił się przed stratą podania, a kilkanaście minut później, znów przy wyniku 4:4, wraz ze swoim partnerem przełamał Cabala.

Rozstawieni z numerem siódmym Marach i Pavić stanęli przed szansą na zakończenie meczu i jej nie zmarnowali. W ostatnim gemie łatwo wyszli na 40-0, co oznaczało trzy piłki meczowe. Wykorzystali już pierwszą, po znakomitym podaniu 37-latka z Grazu.

Dla Maracha i Pavicia był to pierwszy wielkoszlemowy tytuł zdobyty w drugim finale (w 2017 roku przegrali mecz o tytuł Wimbledonu z parą Łukasz Kubot / Marcelo Melo). Marach został trzecim w erze zawodowego tenisa austriackim mistrzem Wielkiego Szlema w deblu - po Jürgenie Melzerze (triumfatorze Wimbledonu 2010 i US Open 2011) i Julianie Knowle (US Open 2007). Pavić natomiast zapisał się w dziejach chorwackiego tenisa obok Ivana Dodiga, który w sezonie 2015 wygrał Rolanda Garrosa.

Australian Open, Melbourne (Australia)
Wielki Szlem, kort twardy (Plexicushion), pula nagród 55 mln dolarów australijskich
sobota, 27 stycznia

finał gry podwójnej mężczyzn:

Oliver Marach (Austria, 7) / Mate Pavić (Chorwacja, 7) - Juan Sebastian Cabal (Kolumbia, 11) / Robert Farah (Kolumbia, 11) 6:4, 6:4

https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/tenis/73446 ... i-mate-pav

[robpal]

[DUN I LOVE]

Mate numerem 1 rankingu deblowego!

[Barty]

Tribute: Pavic Completes Rise To No. 1

Spoiler:

ATWorldTour.com pays tribute to the new doubles No. 1

Mate Pavic was going through final match preparations with his Austrian partner Oliver Marach on Friday, stretching his muscles, with one eye on a nearby television screen, when he learned — below ground level at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, prior to competing on the picturesque Pietrangeli court — that he had achieved one of his long-time goals.

In officially becoming the 52nd player since March 1976 to rise to No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings today, replacing Poland’s Lukasz Kubot in the top spot of tennis’ team discipline, the 24-year-old Croatian has become the youngest player for 22 years to fulfill a dream that every child, who picks up a racquet, nurtures.

“It means a lot for sure,” Pavic told ATPWorldTour.com at the historic clay-court tournament in Rome. “I believed that I could do it one day, but honestly I didn’t think that it could happen that fast, considering that last year — at this time — I was ranked around No. 30."

Twelve months ago, the sport’s youngest doubles No. 1 since Australia’s Todd Woodbridge, aged 24 years and 10 months, was in his seventh stint at the summit in February 1996, could be found at No. 31 in the ATP Doubles Rankings, with a 6-10 record in finals. Having first broken into the Top 100 four years earlier, at No. 99 on 24 June 2013, Pavic was searching for a route further up the food chain.

It is a remarkable journey to No. 1 for Pavic, who, as a four-year-old, first looked out of his mother’s kindergarten window onto a tennis court, as his father, Jakov, coached his older sister, Nadja, a future pro before injury curtailed her career. “I was always on the courts,” Pavic told ATPWorldTour.com. “I also played basketball for a few years and did other sports, but tennis is something I enjoyed and I was always good at it.”

Growing up, Pavic mainly trained in his hometown of Split, but also went to Bob Brett’s San Remo Academy for a few years, Vienna — where he hit with Dominic Thiem and Jiri Vesely — and also Barcelona, under the guidance of Felix Mantilla. Early on in his fledgling career, he travelled with his older sister, Nadja and then his father. Having played singles and doubles initially, following his junior doubles success at 2011 Wimbledon (w/George Morgan), Pavic naturally drifted towards the team game by learning and watching the best.

“I had good singles victories and tournaments, particularly on grass, but 18 months to two years ago, when doubles qualifying events were introduced, that new rule helped me to get into ATP tournaments and I was forced to decide,” admitted Pavic. “I had a pretty good ranking back then in doubles, so I kept playing more doubles to compete at the best tournaments in the world. I kind of feel sad, because I didn’t play singles enough, in order to really see where I could get to in the ATP Rankings.

“When Michael Venus and I started playing together, we both were trying to play singles too. We won a couple of Challenger titles in 2015, plus one ATP [Nice] and some finals [Bogota and Stockholm], but we never played well. In 2016, we had a great year, with four titles and five finals, but we couldn’t break through and rise up the rankings in the big tournaments.”

In regular practice sessions, particularly with Ivan Dodig, with whom he reached his first ATP World Tour finals at 2012-13 Zagreb, then the recently retired Andre Sa and Nenad Zimonjic, Pavic learned a great deal about constructing points and court positioning.

His union with the experienced Marach, a pro for 20 years ago, came about by accident in Miami, 14 months ago.

“We arranged to play in Miami, only for that week, but afterwards we found that we didn’t have any partner moving forwards,” remembers Pavic. “We decided to play the clay and grass swings. It didn’t go the way we wanted or expected it to. Towards the end of the clay swing, we said we’d split up after the grass swing...”

Marach and Pavic gelled. Each player has an ability to play on both sides of the court, and they possess excellent return of serves, but it was subsequent improvements in their net games that helped them to reach three straight grass-court finals — at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, the Antalya Open and at Wimbledon, where they lost 13-11 in the final set to Kubot and Marcelo Melo.

“We saw that we could play well and we’d improved in the ATP Race To London,” said Pavic. “We then won our first title at Stockholm [in October 2017] and from there everything changed. [As alternates] we beat the Bryans in London [at the Nitto ATP Finals in November 2017] and that helped us believe we could be a good team… We’ve become very consistent.”

During the off-season, Marach and Pavic worked hard to develop their weakness and the results showed straight away in 2018 as they went on a 17-match winning streak, including three titles – the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (d. J. Murray/Soares), the ASB Classic (d. Mirnyi/Oswald) and the Australian Open (d. Cabal/Farah), their first Grand Slam championship crown. “I also won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open (w/Gabriela Dabrowski) and whatever I played, I was winning matches non-stop,” said Pavic. “We did have some tough matches in Australia, but we won and that helped us grow in confidence.”

Marach and Pavic’s winning run came to an end at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament, in their fourth straight final, when they lost to French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 2-6, 6-2, 10-7. Since February, the pair has also reached the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final, and now trail the team they lost to – Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan – by just 55 points in the ATP Doubles Race To London. “Doubles these days is very close, because of the system of scoring – the Match tie-break, No-Ad scoring – so it’s down to how you play the big points,” said Pavic. “Fighting with the Bryans for No. 1, means a lot.”

Having risen four positions this week to attain No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings, Pavic isn’t resting on his laurels, as he is playing with Marach at this week’s Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open. Although he did admit, “I will celebrate a little bit, because I guess this kind of thing doesn’t happen every day!”

[Lucas]

[Jacques D.]

[Damian]

#12) Genewa 2018

R1 Marco Cecchinato/Andreas Seppi 60 62
QF Jonathan Erlich/Marton Fucsovics 64 75
SF Robert Lindstedt/Andrei Vasilevski 61 76(2)
W Ivan Dodig/Rajeev Ram 36 76(3) 11-9

[Damian]

[Damian]

First Quarter Review: Marach/Pavic, Bryans Pacing The Pack In 2018

Spoiler:

ATPWorldTour.com looks back on an exciting first quarter of 2018
The season is only three months old, but there has been plenty of excitement on the doubles court with one team dominating early and a pair of legends showing that they may have another No. 1 push in them.
Marach/Pavic Begin Year With Tremendous Winning Streak
Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic just missed out on a spot in last year’s Nitto ATP Finals, serving as alternates in the event before stepping in to win their only match against Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, denying the twins a spot in the semi-finals.
But Marach/Pavic showed early on this year that they have no intentions of serving as alternates at The O2 again — they want to qualify out right. The Austrian-Croatian duo began their 2018 campaign on a 17-match winning streak, winning their first three tournaments of the season (Doha, Auckland, Australian Open) before falling in the championship match at Rotterdam.
And while the 24-4 Marach/Pavic have not won an event since losing that final against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, semi-final and quarter-final appearances in Indian Wells and Miami, respectively, show that they are a force to be reckoned with on the ATP World Tour this year.
Could The Bryans Make Another No. 1 Run?
It is no secret that Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have set the standard for doubles success on the ATP World Tour throughout their careers, finishing atop the year-end ATP Doubles Rankings on 10 occasions. But last season, they finished with only two tour-level titles, their lowest mark since 2000, they year before they lifted their first trophy.
But the twins are back in form again, and appear ready to make another push for the top. They finished the opening quarter of the season with their record 115th title, claiming their fifth Miami Open presented by Itau trophy. It was their record 37th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 triumph.
The brothers had also advanced to the final at their previous two events (Acapulco, Indian Wells), and have now won 12 of 14 matches as the ATP World Tour shifts to the European red clay. The Bryans are second in the ATP Doubles Race To London, trailing only Marach/Pavic.
Early-Season Results Set Up Exciting Clay Swing
Believe it or not, just three of the teams that qualified for the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals are currently in position to do so again. Henri Kontinen and John Peers, who won the season finale in 2016 and 2017, will look to bounce back after faltering in five of their past six matches, including a first-round loss at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Irving, Texas, last month.
But they are not the only ones searching for form. Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, the top-ranked doubles players in the world, are currently ninth in the Race. Those two teams making a push to put their names back in the conversation will surely make for an exciting journey on the red clay.
Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah (third), Ben McLachlan/Jan-Lennard Struff (fifth) and others will look to defend their positions.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/mar ... eview-2018

[Damian]

Pavic To Rise To World No. 1 On Monday Despite Loss

Spoiler:

Kubot/Melo's loss provided opening for the Croatian
Mate Pavic earned a victory before taking the court on Friday at the Foro Italico. With Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo's loss at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, it is guaranteed that the 24-year-old Croatian will become the 52nd player to reach No. 1 in the history of the ATP Doubles Rankings (since 1976) on 21 May. He will be the youngest doubles No. 1 since Todd Woodbridge in February 1996.
However, Pavic and his partner, Oliver Marach, fell later in the day on Court Pietrangeli against Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers. The Uruguayan-Spanish duo overcame a break deficit in both sets to oust the No. 2 seeds 6-3, 7-6(4) in one hour, 28 minutes. Cuevas and Granollers will play Pablo Carreno Busta/Joao Sousa in the semi-finals, after the Spanish-Portuguese team beat No. 8 seeds Feliciano Lopez/Marc Lopez 1-6, 6-3, 10-4.
Watch Live
Sixth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah defeated No. 1 seeds Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-3, 7-5 in 90 minutes. Kubot needed to better Pavic's result in Rome in order to maintain his spot atop the rankings. The Pole was World No. 1 (or tied for the spot) for 19 total weeks.
Cabal/Farah will next face No. 5 seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, who ousted two-time reigning Nitto ATP Finals champions Henri Kontinen and John Peers 6-4, 2-6, 10-5.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/rom ... ay-doubles

[Damian]

Marach/Pavic Continue Sensational Season

Spoiler:

No. 2 seeds to face Colombians Cabal & Farah for semi-final spot
Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic have had a sensational season, winning four tour-level titles and reaching two additional finals. And based on their efforts thus far at Roland Garros, the Austrian-Croatian pair shows no signs of slowing down.
Marach/Pavic overcame a second-set hiccup to beat Salvadorian Marcelo Arevalo and American Jamie Cerretani 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday in Paris to advance to the quarter-finals. They are now 34-6 on the season and are currently No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Race To London. They will get a chance to improve that record against fifth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, who battled from a set down to defeat Dutch/Australian duo Wesley Koolhof and Artem Sitak 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
The Colombians, who captured the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title in Rome two weeks ago and reached the Australian Open final earlier in the year against Marach and Pavic, needed just more than two hours to book their place in the next round.
Marach and Pavic are the highest seeds remaining in the draw after Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin upset top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-6(1) in the Round of 16.
Maximo Gonzalez and Nicolas Jarry moved past Frenchmen Calvin Hemery and Stephane Robert 7-5, 6-3. A day earlier, the Argentian-Chilean team knocked out fourth seeded Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares. Gonzalez and Jarry will either meet Pierre-Herbert Hugues and Nicolas Mahut, or Americans Steve Johnson and Jack Sock. The sixth-seeded Frenchmen defeated Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop 7-5, 7-6(6) in the previous round.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/rol ... bles-day-8

[Damian]

Marach/Pavic Recover To Reach SF

Spoiler:

Mektic/Peya also through to semi-finals
In January, Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic clinched their first Grand Slam title as a team at the Australian Open, defeating Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the championship match.
Just over four months later, the two teams met again in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros. Once again, Marach and Pavic emerged victorious.
The ATP Doubles Race To London leaders recovered from a set down to beat the Colombian fifth seeds 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 12 minutes.
Marach and Pavic, bidding for their fifth tour-level title this season, won 73 per cent of first-serve points and converted two of nine break point opportunities. The Austrian-Croatian tandem are currently riding an eight-match win streak, having lifted the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open title in May.
The second seeds will face 2016 champions Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez for a spot in their third Grand Slam final in the past 12 months. Marach and Pavic also reached the final at The Championships in 2017, losing 13-11 in the fifth set to Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.
Lopez/Lopez saved one match point to defeat reigning Nitto ATP Finals titlists Henri Kontinen and John Peers on Monday.
Farah, Cabal
Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya also advanced, defeating No. 13 seeds Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6(4), 6-2. Mektic and Peya won 68 per cent of second-serve points and broke serve three times in a dominant second-set display to reach the last four after one hour and 32 minutes.
The Mutua Madrid Open champions will meet unseeded duo Maximo Gonzalez and Nicolas Jarry or Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut for a place in the final.
Did You Know?
Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic began the 2018 ATP World Tour season on a 17-match win streak. The duo won titles in Doha, Auckland and the Australian Open before losing in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final (l. Herbert/Mahut).

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/rol ... les-day-10

[Damian]

Pavic/Marach Continue Senational Season, Advance To Roland Garros Final

Spoiler:

No. 2 seeds to face home favourites Herbert & Mahut
No doubles team has been as dominant as Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic in 2018. The Austrian-Croatian tandem has already won four tour-level titles out of six finals, soaring to No. 1 (Pavic) and No. 2 (Marach) in the ATP Doubles Rankings.
And on Saturday, they will have a chance to earn their second Grand Slam championship of the season, after defeating No. 12 seeds Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 6-4, 7-5 in the Roland Garros semi-finals. The second seeds broke three times to advance after one hour, 32 minutes.
Marach and Pavic now have 36 match wins as a team this season. The pair has gained a sizeable lead in the ATP Doubles Race To London, guaranteeing that regardless of the result in the final, they will sit in first by at least 1,295 points.

It appeared that Marach and Pavic would need to win their third consecutive three-setter, as the Spaniards broke for a 5-3 lead in the second set. But the favourites strung together the final four games of the match, breaking twice and losing just one point on serve, to advance to the final on the Parisian terre battue.
The championship match will be a difficult one, as Marach and Pavic look to beat home favourites Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. Less than four months ago, the Frenchmen ended Marach and Pavic’s 17-0 start to the campaign in the final of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament.
Herbert and Mahut have won both of their FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against their final opponents, and are seeking their third Grand Slam trophy (2015 US Open, 2016 Wimbledon). Marach and Pavic, on the other hand, are the reigning Australian Open titlists.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/mar ... os-2018-sf

[Lucas]

Trochę późno, ale zamieszczam szerszy opis turnieju w Genewie w wykonaniu finalistów RG:

Marach/Pavic Clinch Fourth Title of 2018 in Geneva

Spoiler:

Top seeds save one championship point to beat Dodig/Ram
Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic won their fourth tour-level title of the season on Saturday, saving one championship point to defeat Ivan Dodig and Rajeev Ram 3-6, 7-6(3), 11-9 at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open.

"I am very happy to win this tournament here," said Marach. "I won last year in Gstaad, so I guess I like Switzerland a lot."

The top seeds won three straight points from 8/9 down in the Match Tie-break to win the title after one hour and 47 minutes. Marach and Pavic, who will move to No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Race to London on Monday, won 83 per cent of first-serve points and saved seven of the nine break points they faced en route to victory. It is Marach’s 21st tour-level doubles crown. Newly-crowned World No. 1 Pavic has now lifted 12 tour-level titles.

Dodig was bidding to lift his 11th tour-level trophy, while Ram was aiming to clinch his 16th crown at tour-level. The BMW Open by FWU champions (d. Mektic/Peya) hold a 13-9 record this season.


A ripped Dodig backhand return on deciding point at 3-2 clinched the only break of the first set for the second seeds, who quickly took a one-set lead on their first set point after confident serving from both men.

Dodig and Ram appeared to strengthen their grip on the championship match in the second set, getting the better of Marach and Pavic on yet another deciding point before moving to a 4-2 lead. But the Austrian-Croatian duo were not to be denied, breaking back to level the scores at 4-4 before missing out on a set point at 6-5 to level the match.

Dodig and Ram opened up an early 2-0 lead in the tie-break, but Marach and Pavic stormed back, winning seven of the following eight points to grab the momentum and take the final into a Match Tie-break.

Both teams held serve until 8/8, with the Croatian-American tandem seizing the first mini-break to earn championship point at 9/8. But Marach and Pavic showed their class from there, serving strongly to avoid their third consecutive final defeat before converting their first championship point at the net to win their fifth team title.

"We were just fighting through the match, they played a good match," said Pavic. "They are tough opponents and they were serving pretty good."

Marach and Pavic receive 250 ATP Doubles Ranking points and share €27,170 in prize money for lifting the trophy. Dodig and Ram gain 150 points and will split €14,280.

Did You Know?
Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic hold a 31-6 record this season. The duo began the season with 17 consecutive victories, picking up titles in Doha, Auckland and at the Australian Open. Marach and Pavic also reached championship matches earlier this season in Rotterdam and Monte-Carlo.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/gen ... bles-final

[Damian]

Bryan Holds Strong Form; Marach/Pavic Lead The Pack

Spoiler:

ATPWorldTour.com looks back on an exciting second quarter of 2018

At the conclusion of the second quarter of the 2018 ATP World Tour season, there have been plenty of talking points on the doubles court with the top prizes being shared among a variety of teams. But one man, Mike Bryan, started and finished the quarter strong. Partnering brother Bob Bryan, the recently crowned World No. 1 captured the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title in April before enjoying success, alongside countryman Jack Sock, at Wimbledon in July.

Bryan Continues Success After Brother's Injury
After clinching their 115th tour-level title as a duo at the Miami Open presented by Itau, the Bryan brothers made a seamless transition onto the European clay. The American twins overcame first-quarter frontrunners Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic to secure the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and looked in top form as they progressed to the Mutua Madrid Open final.

Unfortunately, their winning streak came to an end in the Spanish capital as Bob Bryan was forced to retire from the championship match with a right hip injury. From there, Mike Bryan struggled for form. The 40-year-old won just one tour-level match in his next three events leading into Wimbledon, before finding his best level once again alongside Sock.

From the Round of 16 at The All England Club, the American duo survived three five-set battles in four matches to lift the title in dramatic fashion. Mike's first Grand Slam victory without his twin brother also confirmed his return to World No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings on 16 July. The 40-year-old American is the oldest No. 1 in doubles history. Despite Bob's injury, the brothers remain in second position in the ATP Doubles Race to London on 4.355 points.

Marach/Pavic Still Lead the Way
After falling to the Bryans at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Marach and Pavic suffered back-to-back quarter-final losses in Barcelona and Rome. But the Austrian-Croatian duo rediscovered their form at the right time, capturing their fourth tour-level title of the season at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open before a run to their third Grand Slam final in 11 months at Roland Garros.

Searching for their second Grand Slam trophy of the season, Marach and Pavic were unable to repeat their Australian Open heroics, losing in straight sets to Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. Their grass-court campaign started promisingly, with a semi-final run at the Fever-Tree Championships. But, despite leading by two sets in their first-round match at Wimbledon, Marach and Pavic were stunned by Federico Delbonis and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela in five sets. The pairing remain atop the ATP Doubles Race to London with 5,930 points.

Familiar Faces Rise in the ATP Doubles Race to London
Three teams made strong moves up the ATP Doubles Race to London standings throughout the second quarter.

Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya soared to fourth place after an impressive clay-court stretch. Mektic and Peya captured two titles, in Marrakech and Madrid, from three tour-level finals on the red dirt.

Herbert and Mahut reached fifth position after clinching their third Grand Slam as a duo at Roland Garros. The Frenchmen beat Mektic and Peya in the semi-finals before an upset win over second-seeded Marach and Pavic in the final.

After a consistent European clay season, Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus entered peak form on grass. The Open 13 Provence titlists reached their second and third tour-level finals as a team, falling to Dominic Inglot and Franko Skugor at the Libema Open before a five-set loss to Bryan and Sock at Wimbledon.

Brits Join Winners' Circle
There were seven first-time winners in the second quarter, with four British stars lifting their first tour-level trophies on the doubles court.

Kyle Edmund and Cameron Norrie combined to win the Millennium Estoril Open and were soon joined by Luke Bambridge and Jonny O'Mara, who emerged victorious at the Nature Valley International.

There were also maiden tour-level doubles crowns for Nick Kyrgios (w/Sock) in Lyon, Tim Puetz (w/Petzschner) in Stuttgart and Marcelo Demoliner (w/Gonzalez) in Antalya. After falling short in his six tour-level doubles final appearances, Demoliner lifted his first ATP World Tour trophy in his seventh championship match.

More Stories Like This In: Second Quarter 2018 Doubles Mike Bryan

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/do ... eview-2018

[Barty]

Marach/Pavic First To Qualify For Nitto ATP Finals 2018

Spoiler:

Alternates in 2017, become first team to clinch their spot this season

Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic become the first players to clinch a spot at the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 11-18 November at The O2 in London. The No. 1 team qualified for the elite eight-player, eight-team field for the first time by reaching their eighth final of 2018 on Saturday at the German Tennis Championships 2018 presented by Kampmann.

The Austrian and Croatian served as Nitto ATP Finals alternates in their debut season last year, making their team debut at The O2 when they stepped in on the final day of round robin play to defeat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. Marach previously qualified for the tournament in 2009-10 alongside Lukasz Kubot.

“For me, it’s the best tournament in the world,” said Marach. “People in London are great and I love to play there. I had some of my best matches in London, such as the 2017 Wimbledon final, although we lost it, and I was at The O2 in 2009 and 2010. So I’m very happy to qualify again.”

“It’s a big thing and we have qualified quite early,” said Pavic. “For sure it takes the pressure off. I remember last year when we were fighting for London around Nos. 8-9-10 at the end of the season, we always had our eyes on the [ATP] Doubles Race To London. It was a great experience to play there last year as alternates. It was a goal to be there this year and we’re looking forward to it.”

Buy You London Tickets

Marach and Pavic, who respectively celebrated their 38th and 25th birthdays earlier this month, made an impressive start to their 2018 campaign. They went undefeated through January, with titles at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and the ASB Classic before claiming their maiden Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open. They extended their winning streak to 17 matches before a loss in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final (l. to Herbert/Mahut).

The second-year duo won their fourth title of the season at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open, the same week that Pavic rose to become the youngest No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings since Todd Woodbridge in March 1976. Marach and Pavic also reached clay-court finals at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and Roland Garros.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ma ... inals-2018

[COA]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqaXOqI ... A&index=30[/youtube]

[Barty]

[Barty]

Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic came from a set down to beat Leander Paes and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 on Monday to reach the second round in Chengdu. Pavic has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals with full-time partner Oliver Marach.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/so ... 018-monday