By Glenys Furness
- Colin Fleming and Jonathan Erlich knock out the Bryans in round one at Sydney
- Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares take another win
- Joshua Milton joins Liam Broady in the second round in Bangkok
Sydney, Australia. Colin Fleming & Jonathan Erlich knock out the Bryan Brothers in a tight match in the first round. Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares are taken the distance and survive. Joshua Milton and Liam Broady are into the second round in Bangkok with easy wins.
Fleming & Erlich faced a very tough match as they were drawn against the second seeds, these just happened to be the Bryan Brothers. The Americans proved last year that they were not unbeatable as they ended the 2015 season ranked number two in the world. The brothers were still a very difficult opponent and Fleming & Erlich had to play really good tennis to achieve the win.
In what proved to be a very close straight sets win the Brit/Israeli team managed to manufacture break points late in each set. This proved to be the formula that sealed the match 7-5, 7-5 as Fleming & Erlich moved into the second round.
Murray & Soares also had a very tight match, they were playing an Australian wildcard pairing of James Duckworth & John Millman. Murray & Soares sealed the first set with a break of serve, followed by serving out to take the set 6-4.
The Australians were not going to go quietly though and they managed a break right at the end of the second set, levelling up at 5-7. A match tiebreak would decide who progressed into the second round. Murray & Soares came through the very closely fought tiebreak to seal the match 11-9.
Over on the challenger circuit and in Bangkok Milton had fought through qualifying rounds and found himself against the fifth seed Kamil Majchrzak. Milton had the advantage of playing through the qualifying rounds and surprised the Polish player. The Brit was in confident mood and sealed the win in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.
Also into the second round is Broady, playing the eighth seed Maxime Teixeira the Brit served up a breadstick in the first set. In the second set Broady continued from where he left off in the second set, when at 2-0 up Teixeira retired which handed the Brit a place in round two.
Play continues in Sydney and in Bangkok from 3am GMT. Australian Open qualification rounds commence 11pm GMT 12th January.
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