Spoiler:
Eighth seeds finish Group Mike Bryan with 1-2 record
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo ended their 2020 ATP Tour season with an impressive victory on Thursday, as they ended Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic’s unbeaten start to the Nitto ATP Finals.
The 2017 finalists saved three of four break points to defeat Koolhof and Mektic 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-8 in one hour and 44 minutes. Kubot and Melo were eliminated from semi-final contention on Tuesday, but they raised their games to earn 200 FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings points. The eighth seeds finished their fourth straight team appearance at The O2 with a 1-2 round-robin record.
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Kubot and Melo end the season with a 21-13 team record. The Polish-Brazilian tandem claimed two ATP 500 titles this year in Acapulco and Vienna.
After failing to convert three break points in their opening return game, Koolhof and Mektic were punished for narrowly missing the mark on their returns. Kubot and Melo extracted four volley errors from their opponents to break serve at 2-2 and served with confidence to claim the first set with a love service hold at 5-4.
Koolhof and Mektic did not make the same mistake in the second set. Koolhof played with aggression from the baseline to get the better of Kubot at the net and earn a 4-2 lead. The pair failed to serve out the set at 5-3, but Mektic found success on his return in the second-set tie-break to extend the match.
In the Match Tie-break, Melo returned well and showed incredible reaction skills to earn his team a crucial advantage. The eighth seeds converted their second match point when Kubot fired a low forehand return.
Koolhof and Mektic will look to return to winning ways when they face the second-placed team in Group Bob Bryan on Saturday. The fifth seeds won Group Mike Bryan on Tuesday with a straight-sets victory against Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo ended their 2020 ATP Tour season with an impressive victory on Thursday, as they ended Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic’s unbeaten start to the Nitto ATP Finals.
The 2017 finalists saved three of four break points to defeat Koolhof and Mektic 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-8 in one hour and 44 minutes. Kubot and Melo were eliminated from semi-final contention on Tuesday, but they raised their games to earn 200 FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings points. The eighth seeds finished their fourth straight team appearance at The O2 with a 1-2 round-robin record.
Watch Live
Kubot and Melo end the season with a 21-13 team record. The Polish-Brazilian tandem claimed two ATP 500 titles this year in Acapulco and Vienna.
After failing to convert three break points in their opening return game, Koolhof and Mektic were punished for narrowly missing the mark on their returns. Kubot and Melo extracted four volley errors from their opponents to break serve at 2-2 and served with confidence to claim the first set with a love service hold at 5-4.
Koolhof and Mektic did not make the same mistake in the second set. Koolhof played with aggression from the baseline to get the better of Kubot at the net and earn a 4-2 lead. The pair failed to serve out the set at 5-3, but Mektic found success on his return in the second-set tie-break to extend the match.
In the Match Tie-break, Melo returned well and showed incredible reaction skills to earn his team a crucial advantage. The eighth seeds converted their second match point when Kubot fired a low forehand return.
Koolhof and Mektic will look to return to winning ways when they face the second-placed team in Group Bob Bryan on Saturday. The fifth seeds won Group Mike Bryan on Tuesday with a straight-sets victory against Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.
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