The first doubles title of 2016 was been won in Doha. Fellow Spaniards Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lopez took the crown at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open against Alexander Peya and Philipp Petzschner in straight sets.
Spanish Duo Dominant in Doha
Spaniards Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lopez are off to a flying start in 2016. The third seeds in this week's men's doubles draw at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open had never regularly teamed up before the start of the season. One week into the season, they have their first doubles title together. Lopez and Lopez defeated the fourth seeded pairing of Alexander Peya and Philipp Petzschner 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday's final in Doha. It marks the 11th doubles title for Marc Lopez, his first since 2014. It was his third doubles title in Doha, following title runs in 2009 and 2011. Lopez said afterward that Doha seems to bring out some of his best tennis, “It's my third title, but first with Feli. I love playing in Doha. Every year I play well here. I will be back for sure.”
For Feliciano, it is just his second career doubles title and his first since 2004. The Spaniards were tidy with their play in the final as they saved all four break points that they faced, while converting three of seven break chances against Peya-Petzschner. Lopez and Lopez will continue to pair up during the season as they hope to qualify to play men's doubles at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this summer.
Top Seeds Shocked in Chennai
All things looked perfectly set for top seeds Rajeev Ram and Raven Klaasen heading into their semifinal against third seeds Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin. Second seeds Leander Paes and Marcel Granollers had withdrawn due to an injury to the Spaniard, meaning the semifinal would see the only seeds left in the draw facing off. Ram-Klaasen controlled the opening set against Marach-Martin with stellar first serves, winning 18 of 22 points. They secured the only break of the set in the third game and would not face a break point for the remainder of the set. The second set looked cooked as the top seeds finally got the break on Marach-Martin in game seven for a 4-3 lead. They would consolidate to 5-3, but then drop the final four games in a stunning turn of events. To the super tiebreak where Marach-Martin took two of the first four points off the Ram-Klaasen serves to open a 4-3 lead. The third seeds would hold their final four points on serve to finish off the top seeds 10-5. Marach-Martin were a perfect six or six on first serves in the super tiebreak, helping them clinch a spot in Sunday's final.
In an all-Indian affair that delighted the crowd, it was Somdev Devvarman and Chennai-born Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan advancing to the semifinals with a super tiebreak win in Friday's other doubles action in Chennai. The Indian tandem took down their countrymen N.Sriram Balaji and another Chennai native, Ramukar Ramanathan, 6-4, 1-6, 10-6 in quarterfinal action. Devvarman-Nedunchezhiyan held seven of eight service points in the super tiebreak to propel them to the win. It was a stark contrast to the second set where they won just half of the 16 points played off their serves and were broken twice. They will play Benoit Paire and Austin Krajicek in the semifinals on Saturday. Paire-Krajicek received a walkover in the quarterfinals over Paes-Granollers.
Brisbane International: ATP Semifinal Saturday, WTA Final Set
The number one team on the WTA tour showed no signs of slowing down in the semifinals at the Brisbane International on Saturday. Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza extended their win streak to 23 matches as they dispatched of four seeds Andreja Klepac and Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3, 7-5. It wasn't the cleanest of matches as the top seeds were broken four times. They did dominate on return however, as they won 53 percent of the points played off the Klepac and Kudryavtseva serves. They broke them six times on 14 chances. Hingis-Mirza should face a stern test for the title with Germans Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber as their scheduled foes. Petkovic-Kerber survived Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja 2-6, 6-3, 10-2. The German duo has taken full advantage of their half of the bracket blowing up this week. Second seeds Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan lost their opener and the third seeded Russian pair of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina fell to Medina Garrigues and Parra Santonja in the quarterfinals.
The men's side of the doubles draw in Brisbane goes to semifinal action on Saturday. The highlight match of the day will open play at Pat Rafter Arena with second seeds John Peers and Henri Kontinen battling fourth seeds Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt. The other semifinal pits a pair of unseeded teams against each other. Australian wild cards James Duckworth and Chris Guccione figure to get big crowd support as they battle Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov. Both Nishikori and Dimitrov are now out of the singles draw after losing their quarterfinal matches on Friday.
Top Seeds Advance in Shenzhen
Number one seeds Yi-Fan Xu and Saisai Zheng are into the women's final in Shenzhen, China. The top seeded pairing won a tight match against Cagla Buyukakcay and Aleksandra Krunic 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the semifinals on Friday. Xu-Zheng battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the opening set to take the tie break 7-2 with both teams scuffling on second serves. It was Xu-Zheng taking better advantage as they won 11 of 18 points on second serves from Buyukakcay-Krunic in the set. The top seeds would battle back from an early break in the second that saw them briefly trail 2-1, as they won five of the next six games to close out the match. Xu-Zheng face the unseeded pairing of Vania King and Monica Niculescu in Saturday's final.
Rain Stalls Auckland Semifinal
Barbora Strycova and Danka Kovinic led Marina Erakovic and Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-4, 5-4 when rain forced their semifinal match to be suspended. Erakovic and Soler-Espinosa were serving at 15-30 to stay in the match, and that is where the action picks up on Saturday on the Grandstand. The winner moves on to the final against Elise Mertens and An-Sophie Mestach. The 2016 ASB Classic final will feature an unseeded team in the final for the fourth straight year. Regardless of the result, an unseeded team will win the doubles title on Saturday. That will mark the third time in the last four years that an unseeded duo has taken home the doubles trophy.
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