By Glenys Furness
- Jay Clarke claimed doubles title
- Brit/Indian pair defeated third seeds en route
CHENNAI, INDIA – Jay Clarke teamed up with Arjun Kadhe and the unseeded pair claimed the ATP Challenger doubles title. The Brit/Indian defeated the third seed en route to the trophy.
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ATP/WTA
Lloyd Glasspool & Harri Heliovaara were the fourth seeds in the ATP 500 event. In the first round the Brit/Fin drew the Greek brothers Stefanos Tsitsipas & Petros Tsitsipas. The fourth seeds got the early break of serve against the Wildcard pair and took the lead. The second set was a little closer as the Greeks tried to fight back. However, the seeds secured the vital break of serve and moved into the next round 6-3, 6-4.
The quarter-final saw Glasspool & Heliovaara against Rohan Bopanna & Matthew Ebden. The Indian/Australian pair dominated from the outset. No matter what the fourth seeds tried, Bopanna & Ebden were prepared for it. Ultimately, the Indian/Australian took the match in straight sets 6-2, 6-1.
The top seeds in Rotterdam were Neal Skupski & Wesley Koolhof. Their first round opponents were Kevin Krawietz & Tim Puetz. The Germans managed to get the break of serve against the Brit/Dutch pair in both sets. Unfortunately, Skupski & Koolhof were unable to get back into the match and the Germans progressed 6-3, 6-3.
Over in Delray Beach, Jamie Murray & Michael Venus were the second seeds in the ATP 250 event. Their first round opponents were Miomir Kecmanovic & William Blumberg. The Brit/Kiwi won a hard won break of serve against the Serbian/American pair and took the lead. The second set was a little easier as the Brit/Kiwi broke quickly and moved into the next round 6-4, 6-3.
Their quarter-final opponents were Reese Stalder & Rinky Hijikata. The second seeds were too good in the first set, as they broke early and took the lead. The American/Australian pairing re-grouped in the second set, staying with the seeds. Stadler & Hijikata broke right at the end of the set to level up the match. The match tiebreak started close, but eventually the American/Australian edged through and took the win 3-6, 7-5, 10-6.
Julian Cash & Henry Patten were the fourth seeds at Delray Beach. Their first round opponents were Denis Kudla & Christian Harrison. The Brits dominated the first set, as the Americans struggled to get into the match. The second set was a little closer, as the Americans held serve more. However, the Brits eventually took the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
The quarter-final saw the Brits against John-Patrick Smith & Robert Galloway. The Australian/American pair dominated the first set and took the lead. The second set was much closer, as the seeds forced a tiebreak. In the breaker Cash & Patten gook the lead and levelled up the match. The match tiebreak was very close, with neither pair managing to get ahead. Eventually, though, Smith & Galloway got the mini break and took the match 6-2, 6-7(4), 16-14.
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Challenger & ITF
Jay Clarke teamed up with Arjun Kadhe in the Challenger event in Chennai. The Brit/Indian were unseeded and were pitched against Australians Dayne Kelly & Dane Sweeny. The Australians actually got off to the better start and broke the serve of Clarke & Kadhe to take the lead. The Brit/Indian pair re-grouped in the second set and broke the serve of the Australians to level up the match. In the match tiebreak, Clarke & Kadhe edged through to book a spot in the next round 3-6, 6-3, 10-7.
In the quarter-final Clarke & Kadhe were against the third seeds Nam Ji-Sung & Song Min-Kyu. The seeds dominated the first set, as the Brit/Indian struggled to get into the match. However, Clarke & Kadhe re-grouped in the second set, forcing a tiebreak. In the breaker it was the Brit/Indian that managed to claim that and level up the match. The final match tiebreak was close. Eventually, Clarke & Kadhe edged through to take the win 1-6, 7-6, 10-8.
The semi-final saw the Brit/Indian against Petr Nouza & Andrew Paulson. The Czech pair stayed with Clarke & Kadhe in the first set, and it looked to be heading to a tiebreak. However, the Brit/Indian managed to break serve right at the end of the set and took the lead. The second set saw Nouza & Paulson re-group and break the serve of the Brit/Indian pair to level up the match. The final match tiebreak was once again very close, but it was Clarke & Kadhe that edged through to book a spot in the final 7-5, 4-6, 10-8.
In the final Clarke & Kadhe were against Sebastian Ofner & Nino Serdarusic. The unseeded pairing had taken out the top seeds in the semi-final. The first set was dominated by the Brit/Indian, who didn’t drop a game to take the lead. The second set saw Ofner & Serdarusic try and get into the match, but Clarke & Kadhe secured the vital break of serve to lift the title 6-0, 6-4.
Doubles Round Up
Jonny O’Mara with Roman Jebavy were defeated by Fernando Romboli & Ruben Gonzalez in the semi-final in Manama 7-5, 4-6, 10-5.
Joshua Paris with Clement Chidekh were defeated by Vladyslav Manafov & Ivan Liutarevich in the quarter- final in Cherbourb 6=3, 6-7, 10-2.
Billy Harris with Martin Damm were defeated by Matej Vocel & Michael Vrbensky in the semi-final in Vila Real de Santo Antonio 6-4, 6-4.
Elbert Barr with Ignacio Carou were defeated by Christoph Negritu & Adrian Oetzbach in the quarter-final in M15 Monastir 7-5, 6-3.
Ben Jones with Robert Strombachs were defeated by Mikhail Fufygin & Mirko Martinez in the first round in Oberhaching 6-4, 7-6.
Joshua Goodger & Joe Tyler defeated Johannes Haerteis & Jakob Schnaitter in the final in Oberhaching 7-6, 1-6, 10-7.
Emily Appleton with Isabelle Haverlag were defeated by Freya Christie & Ali Collins in the quarter-final in Altenkirchen 6-7, 6-3, 10-8.
Freya Christie & Ali Collins were defeated by Greet Minnen & Yanina Wickmayer in the final in Altenkirchen 6-1, 6-3.
Niamh Campbell & Caterina Revelli were defeated by Rebecca Munk Mortensen & Ines Murta in the first round in Manacor 6-1, 6-0.
Alisha Reayer with Camila Romero were defeated by Enola Chiesa & Shin Ji-Ho in the first round in Manacor 6-4, 6-4.
Next week Brits play in Rio, Doha, Monterrey, Banguluru, Rovereto, Rome, Portugal, Tunisia, Dubai, France, Argentina, Australia, Egypt, Spain & Welwyn Garden City.
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