By Glenys Furness
- Jamie Murray & John Peers move into Round 2
- Jocelyn Rae & Anna Smith fall
- Aljaz Bedene, partnering Daniel Gimeno-Traver also fall
New York, USA Jamie Murray & John Peers began their campaign at Flushing Meadows with a straight sets victory. Jocelyn Rae & Anna Smith bow out. Alijaz Bedene doubles campaign also ended today.
The doubles pairing of Murray and Peers (AUS) are seeded eight in the US Open doubles tournament. After reaching the final of Wimbledon the pair are full of confidence coming into the last slam of the year.
Their first round match was against the American pairing of Bjorn Fratangelo & Dennis Novikov. The eighth seeds looked to replicate the run at Wimbledon, and this match got them off to the best of starts. The Brit/Aus pairing dominated the play taking 79% of points behind the first serve, and converting one of the break point opportunities to seal the set 6-3. In the second set the seeds kept the pressure on and broke twice as the Americans faltered. Murray/Peers took the second set 6-2.
Rae & Smith found themselves playing against the 13th seeds Michaella Krajicek & Barbora Strycova, the all British team made 83% of first serves, winning 67% of points on the first serve. Putting pressure on the seeded pairing the Brits managed to carve out a total of five break point chances in the first set, unfortunately they were only able to take one of these. Compared to the seeds who only carved out two break point chances, but they converted them both to take the first set 6-4. In the second set and the Brits first serve percentage (FSP) dropped to 55%, although they still won 59% of points on the back of the first serve. Ultimately the difference came down to experience as the seeds only needed on break point chance to take the lead. The Brits did earn a break point in this set but were unable to take the point, their US Open came to an end as they lost the set 6-4.
The final doubles pairing taking to the court today with British interest was Bedene & Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP). Taking on Mate Pavic & Michael Venus the pair would need to bring everything to the court in an attempt to win. In the first set Bedene/Gimeno-Traver had a higher FSP at 68% however they only managed to win 53% of the points behind the serve, their opponents although with a lower FSP of 59% won 84% of the points behind the first serve. The difference in the first set came down to break point opportunities, of which the opponents had two and converted one. The second set was a very close affair as neither side could break serve and no opportunities were created to try. As expected this set headed to a tiebreak, with Bedene/Gimeno-Traver keeping the score tight, until finally Pavic/Venus managed to get ahead and take the tiebreak 7-5. Bedene is still in action in the singles
Play resumes tomorrow at 16:00 hours BST
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