One of last year's men's doubles semifinalists have been eliminated. Second seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo fell in three sets in third round action at the Australian Open.
Bottom Half of Men's Draw Opens Up
The bottom half of the men's doubles draw has been blown up. Two of the top four teams fell victim to upsets on Sunday. Second seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo were beaten by 16th seeds Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers. Cuevas-Granollers played well throughout as they scored the 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 victory. The Spaniards fought back from a break down in the opening set to roll through the tiebreak win. Dodig-Melo responded quickly in the second set as they broke in the third game for a 2-1 lead. They would break again two games later to ensure a quick route to evening the match at a set each. The second seeds were aided by some poor serving from their 16th seeded counterparts as Cuevas-Granollers won just 11 points on serve in the second, after winning 26 in the opener. The Spaniards would reverse that in the final set, winning 20 of 23 points on serve as they secured a break in the 6th game and held on to finish off the upset of Dodig-Melo, who had made the semifinals in Melbourne last season.
In other third round action, fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea were knocked out by 14th seeds Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi. Bopanna-Mergea struggled on serve as they were only getting 54 percent of their first serves in play. That left Huey-Mirnyi room to attack their second serves. The 14th seeds won 22 of 34 second serve points from Bopanna-Mergea. Serving was a huge factor in the match as Huey-Mirnyi would would allow just two break points, saving one. Bopanna-Merga were under constant pressure with 12 break chances allowed. The fourth seeds saved nine, but it was not enough in the 6-4, 6-3 loss. In a second round match, Marc and Feliciano Lopez were also sent out of the tournament as the 15th seeds fell to unseeded Italians Andreas Seppi and Marco Cecchinato. The Spaniards looked frustrated throughout the 6-1, 6-7 (1), 5-7 loss.
Other Third Round Men's Action
Elsewhere, ninth seeded Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock booked a spot in the quarterfinals on Sunday. PopSock ended the playing career of Lleyton Hewitt in doing so. The 9th seeds did not face a break point and were superior at the net in crafting a 6-4, 6-2 win. Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek continued their run as they rallied past Pablo Andujar and Pablo Carreno Busta. The veteran duo are headed to the quarterfinals via their 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win. Nestor is now in position to advance to his third semifinal since 2012 with three different partners.
Chans and Czechs Advance in Women's Draw
There were no major upsets on the WTA side on Sunday. Second seeds Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan eased into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over British duo Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith. The Chans took advantage of 23 unforced errors from the Brits, while committing just 14 themselves. The second seeds nailed 31 winners and converted all four break chances that they saw. Seventh seeded Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova edged past 10th seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Aranxta Parra Santonja 6-2, 7-6 (7). The 7th seeds pulled off a stunning rally in the second set as they came all the way back from a 5-1 deficit to claim the set and match.
Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Coco Vandeweghe avoided an upset, but just barely against Barbora Strycova and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The 12th seeds scored the 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3 win. They struggled on second serve, losing 26 of 36 points. They managed the win despite scoring three fewer points in the match, 104 to 101. The lone unseeded team to get through on Sunday were Aussies Anastasia and Alina Rodionova. The "Hot Rods" bounced back from losing the opening set to defeat Dominika Cibulkova and Kirsten Flipkens 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
Monday's Schedule
The last four quarterfinal spots for both the men's and women's draws will be decided on Monday in Melbourne. Top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza will be third up at Margaret Court Arena. They play Svetlana Kuznetsova and Roberta Vinci as the Hingis-Mirza seek to extend their record 32 match win streak. On the men's side, top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau battle Seppi-Cecchinato for a quarterfinal berth. The Bryan Brothers face a stiff test in 13th seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram. The Bryans are scheduled second at Hisense Arena.